  Past Articles:
 Paralympic Medal StandingsThese "Articles" are dated from March 1st, 2010 - March 31st, 2010.
 New suicide blasts kill 12 in southern Russia |
31/03/10
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Afghan exit plan intact despite Clinton's plea
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30/03/10
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Moscow suspects Caucasus rebels behind deadly blasts
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29/03/10
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Rush, Robert Charlebois join songwriters' hall of fame
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28/03/10
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Calgary psychiatrist faces more sex assault charges
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27/03/10
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N.B. woman gained strength by seeing family on TV
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26/03/10
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Family kept missing woman's story in spotlight: RCMP
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25/03/10
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Thousands of baby slings recalled in Canada and U.S.
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24/03/10
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Obama to sign health bill, start selling plan to public
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23/03/10
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Burlington, Ont. tops list of riskiest online cities
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22/03/10
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Hundreds evacuated as volcano erupts in Iceland
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21/03/10
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Police, doctors warn of the growing use of 'doda'
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20/03/10
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Police probe daylight shooting in Old Montreal
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19/03/10
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Officials make arrest in probe linked to Haim death
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18/03/10
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PM confronts marijuana issue in YouTube interview
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17/03/10
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Canadians warned against travel to Mexican city
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16/03/10
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Avalanche victims accounted for in B.C.
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15/03/10
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Scientists warn of demise of Canadian climate research
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14/03/10
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Man remanded in custody for eastern Ontario shootings
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13/03/10
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Edmonton parents take Baby Isaiah off life support
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12/03/10
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Australians disgusted by attack on disabled Manitoban
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11/03/10
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Rahim Jaffer pleads guilty to careless driving
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10/03/10
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Britons demand details about notorious toddler killer
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09/03/10
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At least 57 dead after earthquake hits eastern Turkey
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08/03/10
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Day defends finance minister's late-night flight
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07/03/10
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Canadians enjoy a warm, sunny respite from winter
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06/03/10
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Contamination scare leads to food recalls in Canada
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05/03/10
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Family of missing N.B. woman makes plea for help
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04/03/10
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Crosby's golden gloves, stick missing: Hockey Canada
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03/03/10
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Chile looks for outside help in quake recovery
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02/03/10
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Chilean police crack down on looters following quake
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01/03/10
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New suicide blasts kill 12 in southern Russia
Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. Mar. 31 2010 07:54 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 31st, 2010
At least 12 people are dead and about two dozen others are wounded after another double suicide-bombing attack in Russia, two days after suicide bombings tore through the Moscow subway system.
The attacks Wednesday happened in the town of Kizlyar, in the province of Dagestan near the border with Chechnya, in the north Caucasus region. It's a predominantly Muslim province where government forces have been struggling against a separatist Islamist insurgency.
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Cars damaged in an explosion are seen in Kizlyar, a town in the southern Russian region of Dagestan, Wednesday, March 31, 2010. (Zaur halikov / NewsTeam)
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Police say one of the attackers in Wednesday's blasts detonated explosives when police tried to stop their vehicle. Then, as investigators and residents gathered at the scene, a second bomber wearing a police uniform approached and set off more explosives.
Most of those killed were police officers. The town's police chief was reportedly among the dead, as was an investigator from the prosecutor's office.
Televised footage showed two gutted cars and a huge hole in the street. A nearby red brick schoolhouse had its windows blown out and roof partly ripped off, but reports said there were no children in the school.
The attacks come two days after two female suicide bombers killed 39 people in Moscow's subway -- the first suicide attacks in the Russian capital in six years. Authorities say the bombers likely had connections to the North Caucasus.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that the blasts may have been organized by the same militants.
"I do not rule out that it is one and the same gang acting," Putin told a government meeting. He called the attacks "a crime against Russia."
Bombings and other attacks occur almost daily in the provinces of Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia, provinces.
Police and security services are a frequent target because, to the militants, they represent the Kremlin. But police have also been accused of involvement in many killings, kidnappings and beatings in the region, further enraging locals.
The surge of violence in the Caucasus is challenging the Kremlin a decade after Putin led Moscow into a war against Chechen separatists that sealed his rise to power.
On Monday, Putin vowed to "drag out of the sewer" the terrorists who carried out the Moscow attacks.
President Dmitry Medvedev took a somewhat softer stance, noting that the insurgency would not be stopped by force alone. He said the government must attack root causes such as poverty and corruption in the Caucasus.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press
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Afghan exit plan intact despite Clinton's plea
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Mar. 30 2010 08:41 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 30th, 2010
The government is sticking to its position that the Canadian Forces will not be involved in combat in Afghanistan beyond the end of next year, despite a public plea from the U.S. Secretary of State for Ottawa to extend the military's engagement in the Afghan theatre.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke to CTV's Power Play on Monday afternoon, telling host Tom Clark that Washington values the work of Canadian soldiers and would "obviously like to see some form of support continue" after 2011.
On Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said that while Washington may offer encouraging words about Canadian soldiers and their capabilities, the government's position on the matter is not negotiable.
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Prime Minister Stephen Harper shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before a bi-lateral meeting at the G8 Foreign Ministers meeting in Gatineau, Que., Tuesday, March 30, 2010. (Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
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"First, we all have to acknowledge how the Americans are very supportive of what Canadians and the Canadian troops and our civilian component are doing there," Cannon told CTV's Canada AM from Aylmer, Que., on Tuesday morning.
"But at every opportunity I have had, I have mentioned to my colleagues that the government's position is clear, it has been established by a motion in the Parliament of Canada…and we indicated that beyond 2011 there would not be any combat role for Canadian troops and that our withdrawal was firm."
When Clinton spoke to Power Play, she suggested that the U.S. would welcome Ottawa keeping Canadian troops deployed in Afghanistan who could be assigned to training Afghan forces, undertaking development and other non-combat tasks.
Cannon said the government is still working out the precise plan for Canada's involvement in Afghanistan after the end of its combat mission, something it updated the public on during the throne speech that was delivered earlier this month.
"You'll recall that we've indicated as a government that there will be a diplomatic role, obviously for Canada, post-2011, as well as a development and aid role post-2011," he said. "And that, we're in the midst of looking at, we're in the midst of developing that aspect of our engagement in Afghanistan."
Asked if there will be a parliamentary debate on the potential non-combat involvement of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan after the formal withdrawal, Cannon said no debate is necessary because the military will not be involved in combat.
"We've made it clear that the military will not be (involved) post-2011 and in that regard, there is no need to have a debate in the House," said Cannon.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
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Moscow suspects Caucasus rebels behind deadly blasts
Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. Mar. 29 2010 08:55 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 29th, 2010
Russian officials believe rebels from the Caucasus region are to blame for the deadly suicide blasts that occurred on a pair of Moscow subway trains on Monday morning.
Officials say two female suicide bombers walked onto subway trains during the morning rush hour, before blowing themselves up in separate blasts. Thirty-seven people were killed, while another 65 people were injured.
The first blast hit the Lubyanka station in central Moscow, just before 8 a.m. local time.
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In this image made from television, blast victims lie in a subway train hit by a explosion at Moscow's Lubyanka station, Monday, March 29, 2010, shortly after the blast. (L!FE NEWS)
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Ludmila Famokatova, a woman who sells newspapers outside the station, said the people streaming out after the bombing appeared distraught, but not panicked.
"One man was weeping, crossing himself, saying: ‘Thank God I survived,'" she said.
The Lubyanka train station sits right below the headquarters of the Federal Security Service, the agency that replaced the former KGB.
The second blast came 45 minutes later at the Park Kultury station, across the street from two of Russia's major media organizations, RIA Novosti and RT.
Vladimir Markin, a spokesperson for Russia's top investigative body, said the Park Kultury bomber blew herself up just as the train doors shut. She was wearing a belt laden with plastic explosives. He told reporters that the woman was not immediately identified.
Alexander Vakulov, 24, said he was waiting on the opposite platform at the Park Kultury station when the blast occurred.
"I heard a bang, turned my head and smoke was everywhere," Vakulov said. "People ran for the exits screaming."
Valtin Popov, 19, also witnessed the blast from the opposite platform.
"I saw a dead person for the first time in my life," said Popov.
Following the violence, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin vowed that "terrorists will be destroyed."
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met with Federal Security Service head Alexander Bortnikov.
Medvedev said his country would "continue the fight against terrorism unswervingly and to the end."
Blasts draw attention
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Fred Weir, a correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor, said the blasts were designed to draw the world's attention.
"It seems clearly that this was co-ordinated for maximum political impact," Weir told CTV's Canada AM during a telephone interview from Moscow on Monday morning.
Russian TV showed video of the smoke-filled Lubyanka station, where wounded and possibly dead victims were lying on the floor.
RT correspondent Charlotte Lomas-Farley was working at the TV station across the street from the Lubyanka station when the second blast hit.
"I have to say that everybody here in Moscow is very shocked at what happened," Lomas-Farley told CTV's Canada AM in a telephone interview from Moscow.
"They were scenes of utter panic and chaos earlier on this morning with people flooding the streets, very much hysterical, wanting to know what had happened and trying to get a hold of loved ones."
A few hours after the bombing, Lomas-Farley said the situation had calmed some, as authorities sent police to the bombing scenes, as well as to various transit stations.
Moscow's subway system carries about seven million passengers every day. Residents rely on the system to travel through Russia's sprawling capital city.
In Ottawa, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said Canada "strongly condemns the cowardly attacks" on the Russian subway system. He said the Canadian government offers its "deepest sympathy" to the people whose family and friends had been hurt or killed in the attacks.
In Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama condemned the "heinous" violence in Moscow and offered his condolences to the Russian people. He said the U.S. stands united with Russia in its opposition to extremism.
The Moscow attacks prompted New York's transit system to beef up its own security on Monday. Spokesperson Kevin Ortiz said the city's transit agency had a "heightened security presence," but did not provide further details.
Terror tremors
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Moscow's battle with rebels in the Caucasus region has heated up recently, with Russian police reporting the death of one militant leader in the Kabardino-Balkariya region last week.
In February, Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov told an interviewer that "the zone of military operations will be extended to the territory of Russia…the war is coming to their cities."
In the same interview, Umarov said his fighters were behind the November bombing of a passenger train that killed 26 people.
Terrorism expert Alan Bell said Russia worked to drive many Chechen rebels out of Chechnya about two years ago, as part of an intensive crackdown on their activities.
But the rebels ended up regrouping in North Caucasus, which has bred the current problems in that region, he said.
Neither Putin, nor Medvedev, made mention of any specific actions that Moscow would take in the Caucasus region, though Bell suggested that the government will not hesitate to act.
"The Russians don't mess around with terrorism like a lot of other countries do," Bell told CTV's Canada AM during an interview in Toronto.
"When something happens, they will go in, they will find who is responsible and they will deal with this in a very cut and dried manner."
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press
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Rush, Robert Charlebois join songwriters' hall of fame
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. Mar. 28 2010 23:53 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 28th, 2010
TORONTO — Even after scores of accolades, this seemed like a special night for Rush.
So as the prog-rockers became the first group ever ushered into the Canadian songwriters' hall of fame and watched a succession of younger musicians interpret their songs onstage at a Toronto gala on Sunday, perhaps it was time for the veteran band to reflect on a 40-plus-year career.
Right?
"Oh, hell no," a laughing Geddy Lee said backstage, smiling and standing next to drummer Neil Peart and guitarist Alex Lifeson.
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Alex Lifeson, left, Neil Peart, centre, and Geddy Lee of the band Rush stand on stage during a ceremony to induct them into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame for the songs 'The Spirit of Radio' and 'Subdivisions' in Toronto on Sunday, March 28, 2010. (Chris Young / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
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"We try not to think about that."
It was tough on this night, when the Toronto trio was feted along with Montreal multi-hyphenate artist Robert Charlebois and inducted into the hall of fame for Canadian songwriters, which was founded in 1998.
Rush, certainly, has received plenty of attention before.
On top of 14 platinum records and six Grammy nominations, they were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994, they were made Officers of the Order of Canada in '96, and each member of the trio has been feted countless times for their instrumental prowess in various industry mags.
And that's exactly what made this particular honour such a surprise -- on Sunday, the band was honoured for their songwriting as they joined a select group that also includes Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen.
Where those artists are known mostly for their unparalleled songwriting skills -- with decades of material that's been reinterpreted and covered by artists the world over -- Rush has typically been more associated with their unrivalled musicianship and their restless ambition to conquer every musical genre, sometimes in the span of one song.
The band acknowledged that immediately in their speech, which was delivered entirely by drummer Neil Peart.
"First of all, songwriting award? Rush? There must be some mistake," Peart said to laughter from a crowd that had just serenaded the group with a standing ovation.
"We continue to inspire each other and create music that inspires us all."
The band was inducted for five specific songs (all written at least 25 years ago, as per the hall's rules): "Limelight," "Tom Sawyer," "The Spirit of Radio," "Subdivisions" and "Closer to the Heart."
Other songs inducted Sunday included Alfred Bryan and Fred Fisher's "Come Josephine in My Flying Machine," Ovila Legare's "Des mitaines pas de pouces," Elizabeth Clarke's "(There's a) Bluebird on Your Windowsill," Germaine Dugas's "Deux enfants du meme age," Michel Pagliaro's "J'entends frapper" and Dolores Claman's "The Hockey Theme."
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Charlebois's induction specifically centred on five tunes that he wrote or co-penned: "Fu Man Chu," "Les ailes d'un ange," "Lindberg," "Demain l'hiver," and "Ordinaire," which he performed.
Charlebois -- the 65-year-old musician, author and actor -- was reflective when he took the stage to accept the honour.
"I hope it's not the end of a career, because I'm still young," said Charlebois, who addressed the crowd in French and English without the aid of notes.
"A career is the encounters of different people who bring you magic."
Durand, Mara Tremblay, Pierre Flynn and Dumas interpreted two of his songs, while other inducted songs were covered by Dala, DJ Champion, Marie-Jo Therio, Le Vent du Nord, Lily Frost and comedian Sean Cullen.
For Rush, Hamilton singer-songwriter Jacob Moon offered an ethereal take on the band's "Subdivisions" (his rooftop performance of the song has become a YouTube hit), Alexisonfire howled through a raucous version of "Tom Sawyer" and Les Claypool performed the strutting "The Spirit of Radio" after commending the band not just for their musical legacy, but for their personal demeanours, too.
"I would like to let all the Rush fans know -- as a Rush fan -- that they're actually really great guys," he said. "They're intelligent, they're humorous, and they're family men.
"They're just good human beings and I'm glad they're on this planet."
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
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Calgary psychiatrist faces more sex assault charges
Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. Mar. 27 2010 22:12 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 27th, 2010
CALGARY — Calgary police say they are checking out more allegations involving a psychiatrist who is charged with sexual assault of a male patient.
Dr. Aubrey Levin, 71, was arrested earlier this week, just days after being suspended by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta.
CTV Calgary didn't identify the official, but said police are investigating information from as many as 29 people who came forward after hearing of the psychiatrist's arrest.
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Dr. Aubrey Levin was arrested and charged with the sexual assault of one of his patients on Tuesday, March 23, 2010.
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Investigators set up a hotline hoping to gather more information in the case.
Police officials say it's too early to determine whether any more charges may be laid.
Levin is currently out on bail and scheduled to appear in court on April 8th.
He earned his degree in 1963 in South Africa and worked with the military.
Levin has been licensed in Alberta since 1998.
Alberta Justice also announced earlier this week it is reviewing criminal cases in which the psychiatrist testified.
Department spokesman, Jay O'Neill, said the goal was to ensure there was no miscarriage of justice in cases where the doctor was a witness in court.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
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N.B. woman gained strength by seeing family on TV
Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. Mar. 26 2010 07:53 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 26th, 2010
A New Brunswick grandmother who was allegedly held against her will for nearly a month, gained strength by seeing her family on TV, her daughter said Friday.
The 54-year-old woman, who cannot be named under a publication ban, made contact with police on Wednesday, almost a month after she disappeared at the end of her workday on Feb. 26.
Soon after she spoke to authorities, police arrived at a basement apartment in Moncton, N.B. -- only two kilometers from the parking lot of the woman's workplace -- and arrested 62-year-old Romeo Jacques Cormier.
Cormier was charged with kidnapping, unlawful confinement, assault with a weapon, sexual assault, uttering death threats and theft. He appeared in a New Brunswick court yesterday and is due to return for another court appearance April 12.
While the woman was missing, her family worked tirelessly to keep her story in the media spotlight. The RCMP said they received 600 tips while she was gone.
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Donna O'Rielly is seen in this undated family photo.
RCMP cars sit outside a house on Sixth St. as they investigate an alleged abduction in Moncton, N.B. on Thursday, March 25, 2010. (Andrew Vaughan / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
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Now reunited with her family, the woman has told them she was able to follow the many media reports surrounding her disappearance, her daughter told CTV's Canada AM on Friday.
"There was a TV where she was and she was able to watch just about all the broadcasts that went on during that month, which makes us feel so good that what we were doing was actually helping her, because it gave her strength and gave her hope," the woman's daughter said during a telephone interview from Moncton.
Her mother even learned that she had a new grandchild on the way from the news reports she was able to see.
"She knew about the pregnancy and it was the first thing she said to my sister," her daughter said. "When she talked to my sister, she said: ‘Congratulations.'"
The woman's daughter said it is hard to believe what her family is going through.
"It's just still like we're living in a movie," she said.
"You watch this stuff on TV and you see movies about it and these types of experiences. And you never think you would go through it."
The woman released a statement to the public yesterday, which was read out by one of her daughters at the RCMP headquarters in New Brunswick.
"I would like you to know that I am so happy to have this horrible experience come to an end," the statement said.
"Being home with family is the mental image that kept me focused each day and now it is reality again. I would like to send a special thanks to my guardian angel, the driver who picked me up moments after my escape. Although my recovery will take time, I know that the strength of my family will help me through."
The "guardian angel" the woman referred to is a Purolator driver who picked up the woman after she allegedly fled the basement apartment Wednesday.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
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Family kept missing woman's story in spotlight: RCMP
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. Mar. 25 2010 08:09 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 25th, 2010
The RCMP is crediting the efforts of a New Brunswick family in keeping the story of a missing grandmother in the public's eye, the day after she emerged from apparent captivity in a Moncton basement.
Donna O'Rielly had been missing for nearly a month when she flagged down a Purolator driver who recognized her from the news on Wednesday afternoon. The 54-year-old woman said she had been held against her will in a Moncton basement apartment.
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Donna O'Rielly is seen in this undated family photo.
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Prior to yesterday, O'Rielly had not been seen since she finished work at the H&R Block location at Highfield Square Mall in downtown Moncton on Feb. 26. Her car was found in the parking lot and it appeared that she vanished without a trace.
Her family soon suspected that O'Rielly had been abducted as it was out of character for her to go missing and she was due to take a trip to Florida with her family within a few days of her disappearance. They later put up a $25,000 reward to help crack the case.
RCMP Const. Chantal Farrah told CTV's Canada AM that O'Rielly's family worked hard to make sure the public didn't forget that she had gone missing.
"They worked alongside us through the entire time and they were really focused on keeping the media's attention and the public's attention on the disappearance of their mother, which was very important," Farrah said during an interview from Moncton on Thursday morning.
"Because in some cases, people will look at the news and just get some information and then kind of forget about it and forget that these are people's lives."
By continually reminding the public to keep watch for any clues or tips that could help investigators, the police received 600 tips.
And eventually, it was a member of the public who saw O'Rielly and immediately knew who she was.
"That person just happened to be driving by and recognized her," Farrah said.
Once O'Rielly made contact with police, they quickly took her for treatment, debriefed her and swooped in to arrest her alleged captor, Farrah said.
Farrah said O'Rielly is in "good physical shape" despite being "shaken up by what's happened."
A 62-year-old Moncton man was taken into custody on Wednesday afternoon. He is known to police.
Farrah said he is due to appear in court later today.
CTV's Atlantic Bureau Chief, Todd Battis, said two of O'Rielly's daughters are due to address the media later today.
"They have come down from Ontario to be with their family, they led the search, they were very active and very front and centre and always appeared on media keeping the story very much in the headlines in this part of the country," Battis told CTV's Canada AM from Halifax on Thursday morning.
Battis said other family members have travelled from Newfoundland to be at the O'Rielly home in Moncton, hours after it was revealed that she was still alive.
O'Rielly is originally from Isle aux Morts, N.L., and later lived in Gander, N.L., before moving to New Brunswick.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
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Thousands of baby slings recalled in Canada and U.S.
Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. Mar. 24 2010 08:12 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 24th, 2010
More than 1 million baby slings made by Infantino are being recalled because the products have been linked to three infant deaths.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission in the U.S. says babies can suffocate in the soft fabric slings. The agency is urging parents to immediately stop using the slings for babies under four months of age.
The recall involves 15,000 Infantino "SlingRider" and "Wendy Bellissimo" slings sold in Canada and one million sold in the United States.
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Wendy Bellissimo Sling (Photo courtesy U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)
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"CPSC is aware of three reports of deaths that occurred in these slings in 2009; a 7-week-old infant in Philadelphia, Pa.; a 6-day-old infant in Salem, Ore.; and a 3-month-old infant in Cincinnati, Ohio," the CPSC says in the warning on its website.
Infantino sold the slings in the U.S. and Canada from January 2003 through March 2010 at Walmart, Babies "R" Us, Burlington Coat Factory, Target, BJ's Wholesale, various baby and children's stores and other retailers nationwide, and online at Amazon.com.
Infantino President Jack Vresics says the company will offer a free replacement baby carrier, activity gym or shopping cart cover to any affected consumer.
This recall follows a warning earlier this month from the CPSC that sling-style baby carriers in general pose a suffocation risk to newborns.
The CPSC said it had identified at least 14 deaths linked to sling-style infant carriers in the last 20 years, including three in 2009. Twelve of the deaths involved babies younger than four months of age.
"In the first few months of life, babies cannot control their heads because of weak neck muscles. The sling's fabric can press against an infant's nose and mouth, blocking the baby's breathing and rapidly suffocating a baby within a minute or two," the CPSC warned.
It also noted that slings keep infants in a curled position bending the chin toward the chest, restricting their airways and limiting the oxygen supply.
The agency says that many of the babies who died in slings were either a low-birth-weight twin, were born prematurely, or had breathing issues such as a cold. It urged parents of preemies, twins, babies in fragile health and those with low weight to consult their pediatricians about using slings.
There currently are no safety standards for infant sling carriers; the CPSC said it is now working on one, along with ASTM International. As they do, CPSC is advising companies such as Infantino to quickly develop an effective voluntary standard for slings.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff
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Obama to sign health bill, start selling plan to public
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Mar. 23 2010 08:07 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 23rd, 2010
U.S. President Barack Obama will sign a landmark US$938-billion healthcare bill into law Tuesday, only two months after it appeared all but dead and two days after it was finally passed by the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 219-212.
Obama will soon begin selling the American public on the benefits of a new health care system that will extend coverage to millions of previously ineligible patients, while his opponents are gearing up to fight him on every detail.
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U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif. signs the Senate Health Reform bill on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, March 22, 2010. (AP / Haraz N. Ghanbari)
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The 10-year bill will see 32 million Americans gain health care coverage and will ban insurance companies from denying coverage to patients with pre-existing conditions, among other measures. It is expected to slash federal budget deficits.
For the past year, the bill has been Obama's top domestic priority, but it was never assured that he would be able to make its implementation a reality. But despite the loss of a critical Senate seat in January that weakened the Democrats' position, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi managed to wrangle enough votes to get it passed into law on the weekend.
A companion bill has been approved by House Democrats, which amends the main bill. It now goes to the U.S. Senate where debate could begin as soon as today. Republicans say they will attempt to force amendments to the bill, though Majority Leader Harry Reid says the Democrats can pass the bill without Republican support.
On Thursday Obama will visit Iowa City, the same place where he first announced his intentions for a national health care plan while he was on the campaign trail in May 2007.
There, it is expected that Obama will emphasize the savings the bill will bring for small businesses and families who will pay less for health care. Yet it remains a divisive issue.
Under the new system, most Americans will have to buy health insurance, whether through their employer, the government or through a private company. If they fail to do so, they will face a fine from Washington -- a contentious point among dissenters who say the bill foists unwanted government involvement in their health care. And those critics say they will do everything in their power to limit its progress and to make the Democrats pay during mid-term elections later this year.
Nevada activist Eric Odom said the government "has declared war on our way of life" in passing the health care bill.
"It's now time to boot them from office."
While Republicans say they will work to repeal Obama's bill, it is highly unlikely to happen. To do so would require a two-thirds majority vote in the House and Senate, a necessary advantage the Republicans do not have.
A number of Republican-leaning states have signalled they will sue Washington, arguing that the pending health care bill impedes on state sovereignty by forcing Americans to buy health insurance. While experts say that federal law overrides state law, the potential lawsuits suggest that the fight over health care will not be tapering off any time soon.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press
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Burlington, Ont. tops list of riskiest online cities
Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. Mar. 22 2010 08:55 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 22nd, 2010
A survey by the Internet security firm Symantec suggests that three wealthy Canadian suburbs are the most dangerous places in the country from which to go online.
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The Toronto-area community of Burlington, Ont., tops the list of 50 Riskiest Online Canadian Cities, with the Vancouver suburbs of Port Coquitlam and Langley following close behind, in second and third.
Lynne Hargrove, director of consumer solutions for Symantec, told CTV's Canada AM that affluent communities with high rates of Internet access and use seem to be the prime targets of on-line scams, viruses and spam.
"Those affluent suburbs seem to be most at risk," she said. "You could be anywhere and be targeted, but I think the learnings here are that those folks that are computer savvy actually have to be more diligent. You could be at risk more because you're online more."
The safest city of the 50 largest communities covered in the study was Longueuil, Que.
Symantec looked at the number of cyber attacks, computer virus infections, the amount of unwanted mass e-mails received, Internet and wireless access and population in drawing up its list.
Cyber crime has become a growing problem, according to several recent studies.
The U.S.-based Internet Crime Complaint Centre said recently that losses from cyber crime and online scams more than doubled in 2009 to US$559 million, citing increasingly sophisticated techniques being used by Internet fraudsters.
In January 2008, a survey by the Canadian Association of Police Boards found that 49 per cent of Canadians had been the victim of some kind of cyber crime, from computer viruses to identity theft.
And the Canadian Council of Better Business Bureaus has estimated that identity theft costs consumers, banks, credit card firms and stores $2 billion annually.
Hargrove said Canadians need to be more alert and security conscious when they are surfing the Internet, no matter where they live.
"There's all kinds of things out there," she said. "We all become a little bit lackadaisical if we're heavy computer users and you just can't be. Threats are happening every day and they're getting more sophisticated."
Symantec recommends Internet users take precautions such as using legitimate security software, like the company's Norton 360 program, keep their operating systems up to date with the latest security patches, always assume WiFi connections are being monitored and are not secure, and use complex and unique passwords for each site they use.
Following is the list of the top 50 riskiest Canadian cities for online crime:
1.
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Burlington, ON
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14.
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Fredericton, NB
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27.
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Richmond, BC
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40.
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Cambridge, ON
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2.
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Port Coquitlam, BC
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15.
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Thunder Bay, ON
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28.
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Kingston, ON
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41.
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Hamilton, ON
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3.
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Langley, BC
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16.
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New Westminster, BC
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29.
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St. John's, NF
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42.
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St. Catharines, ON
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4.
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Vancouver, BC
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17.
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Mississauga, ON
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30.
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Abbotsford, BC
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43.
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Brampton, ON
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5.
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Calgary, AB
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18.
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Sudbury, ON
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31.
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Halifax, NS
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44.
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Laval, QC
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6.
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Oakville, ON
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19.
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Winnipeg, MB
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32.
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Guelph, ON
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45.
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Levis, QC
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7.
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Markham, ON
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20.
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Windsor, ON
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33.
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Oshawa, ON
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46.
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Trois-Rivieres, QC
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8.
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Toronto, ON
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21.
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Regina, SK
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34.
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Burnaby, BC
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47.
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Quebec, QC
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9.
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Kelowna, BC
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22.
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London, ON
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35.
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Whitby, ON
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48.
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Sherbrooke, QC
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10.
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Kitchener, ON
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23.
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Barrie, ON
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36.
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Surrey, BC
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49.
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Gatineau, QC
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11.
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Ottawa, ON
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24.
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Saskatoon, SK
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37.
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Coquitlam, BC
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50.
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Longueuil, QC
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12.
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Victoria, BC
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25.
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Montreal, QC
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38.
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Vaughan, ON
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|
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13.
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Edmonton, AB
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26.
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Richmond Hill, ON
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39.
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Sault Ste. Marie, ON
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|
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Written by CTV.ca News Staff
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Hundreds evacuated as volcano erupts in Iceland
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. Mar. 21 2010 15:34 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 21st, 2010
REYKJAVIK, Iceland — A volcano in southern Iceland has erupted for the first time in almost 200 years, raising concerns that it could trigger a larger and potentially more dangerous eruption at a volatile volcano nearby.
The eruption at the Eyjafjallajokull (AYA-feeyapla-yurkul) volcano, located near a glacier of the same name, shot ash and molten lava into the air but scientists called it mostly peaceful. It occurred just before midnight local time Saturday (8 p.m. EDT) at a fissure on a slope -- rather than at the volcano's summit -- so scientists said there was no imminent danger that the glacier would melt and flood the area.
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Molten lava vents from a rupture near the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland, as a volcano erupts early Sunday March 21, 2010, seen in this aerial photo. (AP / Ragnar Axelsson )
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TV footage showed lava flowing along the fissure, and many flights were cancelled due to the threat of airborne volcanic ash. After an aerial survey Sunday, scientists concluded the eruption struck near the glacier in an area that had no ice.
"This is the best possible place for an eruption," said Tumi Gudmundsson, a geologist at the University of Iceland.
Nonetheless, officials sent phone messages to 450 people between the farming village of Hvolsvollur and the fishing village of Vik, some 160 kilometres southeast of the capital, Reykjavik, urging them to evacuate immediately.
A state of emergency was declared although there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. Evacuation centres were set up near the town of Hella, but many people returned to their homes later Sunday. The most immediate threat was to livestock because of the caustic gases the eruption released.
"We had to leave all our animals behind," Eli Ragnarsdottir, a 47-year-old farmer, told RUV, Iceland's national broadcaster from an evacuation centre. "We got a call and a text message ... and we just went."
Scientists say it is difficult to predict what comes next. Like earthquakes, it is hard to predict the exact timing of volcanic eruptions.
"It could stop tomorrow, it could last for weeks or months. We cannot say at this stage," Gudmundsson said.
The last time there was an eruption near the 160 square-kilometre Eyjafjallajokull glacier was in 1821, and that was a "lazy" eruption -- it lasted slowly and continuously for two years.
The latest eruption came after thousands of small earthquakes rocked the area in the past month. Scientists in Iceland have been monitoring the volcano using seismometers and global positioning instruments, but Gudmundsson noted that the beginning of Saturday's eruption was so indistinct that it initially went undetected by the instruments.
"The volcano has been inflating since the beginning of the year, both rising and swelling," said Pall Einarsson, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland's Institute of Earth Science. "Even though we were seeing increased seismic activity, it could have been months or years before we saw an eruption like this ... we couldn't say that there was an imminent risk for the area."
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Einarsson and Gudmundsson said the eruption could trigger a more damaging eruption at the nearby Karla volcano, which lies under the thick Myrdalsjokull icecap and threatens massive flooding and explosive blasts if it erupts.
"One of the possible scenarios we're looking at is that this small eruption could bring about something bigger. This said, we can't speculate on when that could happen," Einarsson told The Associated Press.
Iceland, a nation of 320,000 people, sits on a large volcanic hot spot in the Atlantic's mid-oceanic ridge. Volcanic eruptions, common throughout Iceland's history, are often triggered by seismic activity when the Earth's plates move and when magma from deep underground pushes it's way to the surface.
All domestic flights in Iceland were cancelled because airborne ash might interfere with aircraft engines, although Reykjavik appeared to be unaffected with clear visibility.
Aviation authorities were to determine whether it is safe to fly again early Monday.
A flight to Oslo was cancelled, but most international flights into and out of Iceland were delayed but returning to normal, Icelandair said. The airline's flights from the U.S. -- departing from Seattle, Boston and Orlando, Florida -- were due later Sunday in Reykjavik. Earlier, a flight was turned back to Boston, leaving about 500 people waiting for hours.
First settled by Vikings in the 9th century, Iceland is known as the land of fire and ice because of its volcanos and glaciers. During the Middle Ages, Icelanders called the Hekla volcano, the country's most active, the "Gateway to Hell," believing that souls were dragged below.
In the mid-1780s, the Laki volcano erupted, causing scores to die of famine when livestock and crops were destroyed and changing weather patterns across Europe.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press
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Police, doctors warn of the growing use of 'doda'
Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. Mar. 20 2010 08:32 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 20th, 2010
Police, politicians and doctors are warning that a relatively new street drug called doda is becoming more common across Canada, and not enough is being done to stop its trade.
Just this week, Peel Police seized $2.5 million worth of doda during raids in Brampton, Mississauga and Toronto.
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Seized opium poppy pods used for producing doda along with doda powder
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Last fall, an RCMP drug unit raided a large manufacturer in Surrey, B.C., the "first large-scale seizure" of doda in the province.
And last month, officers in Calgary seized 13 kilograms of crushed doda powder, issuing at the same time a "wake-up call" that use of the drug is likely to continue to spread.
Doda, or dode, has been around for decades in Afghanistan, India, and other parts of southern Asia, but its appeared in Canada only within the last decade or two, largely confined to the black market in Indo-Canadian communities.
Doda often called "the poor man's heroin" because it's a narcotic derived from the same plant: the opium poppy.
The drug is produced by grinding up dried poppy pods and then using the powder either to make a tea or simply stirring it into a glass or cold water.
The drug produces similar, though milder, effects as other opiates, such as feelings of relaxation and calm. Since the drug isn't injected or snorted, it's difficult to overdose. But doda is an opiate like morphine, codeine and heroin, and as such, is highly addictive, meaning users will crave more and won't be able to stop using it without the help of a doctor.
Peel's medical officer of health Dr. David Mowat recently told CTV Toronto that physicians who specialize in addiction are reporting more and more cases of doda addiction to him.
"They say they're seeing a lot of people who are having problems with this drug: problems with work, sleeping, withdrawal symptoms, family and problems," he said.
"There's a concern that people don't really know what they are consuming. People don't know that this is a morphine derivative."
Mowat said the term doda is used loosely and some people think because the drug is milder than heroin that it's harmless.
"They find out, unfortunately, later, that it's very far from harmless," he said.
Doda has been used as a drug in Canada for about a decade with most of its users being South Asian men, usually taxis drivers, truck drivers and factory workers.
For years, doda existed in a legal grey area because tests failed to show it contained enough opiates to be classifies as a drug. But that has since changed and with this week's bust in Peel Region, police took the opportunity to remind people that doda is an illegal substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Brampton City Councillor Vicky Dhillon says doda is often sold through South Asian butcher shops and other marketplaces, but he says it has spread to other users in recent years.
"There are new sellers every day. There are new guys coming out, selling this product. And my concern was when i saw this going in the high schools, that high school kids are starting to use it," he told CTV Toronto.
The biggest obstacle to cracking down on the doda trade, insists Dhillon is that the drug enters the country not as a powder but as a dried flower to be used for legal purposes, such as in floral arrangements.
Dhillon has been campaigning for almost two years to have Canadian health officials work with U.S. officials to ban the importation of the poppy pods and doda from North America.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with a report from By Angela Mulholland
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Police probe daylight shooting in Old Montreal
Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. Mar. 19 2010 08:05 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 19th, 2010
Police continue to comb the scene of a brazen daylight shooting in Old Montreal, where two gunmen wearing disguises walked into an upscale boutique and started shooting.
The killers entered the Flawnego clothing boutique Thursday afternoon and promptly shot four men inside the store, located near the city's well-known Notre-Dame Basilica.
They fled on foot, discarding parts of their disguises -- including a Rastafarian-style dreadlocked wig -- as they put distance between themselves and the crime scene.
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A paramedic leaves the shooting scene at a clothing store in Old Montreal, Thursday, March 18, 2010. (Ryan Remiorz / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
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CTV's Montreal Bureau Chief, Genevieve Beauchemin, said one victim drove himself to hospital after the violence.
"We spoke to a witness who had seen him and she said there was blood all over his face, and he walked to his car and then drove himself to the hospital," Beauchemin told CTV's Canada AM.
Two of the victims have died, another two were in stable condition after the shooting.
Several witnesses were present at the time of the shooting, including construction workers and other bystanders, some of whom saw the killers taking off their disguises as they fled the scene.
"Some people did see the suspects leaving the scene, walking through the scene and sort of shedding their disguises, and so police are looking for that," Beauchemin said.
Police source say they are in the midst of determining whether the shootings are related to the December murder of Nick Rizzuto Jr., the son of reputed Montreal mob boss Vito Rizzuto, who is currently serving a 10-year sentence in a Colorado prison for racketeering.
Experts have long predicted reprisals for the younger Rizzuto, who was only 42 years old when he was gunned down in December. His killing remains unsolved.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
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Officials make arrest in probe linked to Haim death
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. Mar. 18 2010 08:11 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 18th, 2010
An ongoing investigation into a U.S. prescription-drug ring linked to the recently deceased Canadian actor Corey Haim has yielded an arrest, just days after the former teen idol was laid to rest in Toronto.
Haim died March 10, after collapsing at an apartment complex in Burbank, Calif.
His mother phoned 911 and spent 10 minutes on the phone with a dispatcher, trying to save her son's life.
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Corey Haim is seen in this image from the reality television series 'The Two Coreys'
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He was only 38 years old and had been suffering flu-like symptoms prior to his death.
A post-mortem examination showed that Haim had an enlarged heart and water in his lungs at the time of his death. An L.A. coroner is awaiting the results of toxicological tests, however, before determining the actor's cause of death.
Days after Haim's death, California Attorney General Edmund Brown announced the ongoing investigation had identified an unauthorized prescription in the late actor's name.
Yesterday, Brown's office confirmed that the investigation into the prescription-drug ring had resulted in an arrest, but no further details were released.
Haim had been battling drug addiction for much of his adult life, though it is still not clear what role, if any, drugs played in his death.
But he once told CNN's Larry King in an interview that he expected he was going to be "a chronic relapser" for the rest of his life.
Dr. Joseph Lee, a physician who works for Hazelden Treatment Centers, said young people often abuse prescription drugs, principally because they have access to them through their friends and family. Such addiction problems can follow addicts into their adult years.
"If you look at the demographics of people who are abusing prescription drugs, the great majority of them are in the 12-to-17 and 18-to-25 category," Lee told CTV's Canada AM during an interview from Minneapolis on Thursday morning.
"And Corey Haim's story is really about youth and addiction. He passed away at the age of 38, but his addiction problems really began as a teenager."
Born and raised in the Toronto area, Haim rocketed to fame in the 1980s when he starred in a series of Hollywood films, including the Joel Schumacher-directed vampire flick "The Lost Boys."
His career sagged as he got older, and he eventually starred on a reality TV show with Corey Feldman, a close friend and fellow teen heartthrob, who also sought to regain the fame he once held as a young actor.
One of Haim's last big-screen roles was a small part in "Crank: High Voltage" -- the sequel to an action movie starring British actor Jason Statham.
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Haim's funeral was held Tuesday morning at Steeles Memorial Chapel, a Jewish funeral home just outside of Toronto.
Though closed to media and other outsiders, a few fans stood outside the funeral home to pay their respects to the former teen idol.
His agent, Mark Heaslip, confirmed to CTV.ca in a brief telephone interview earlier this week that plans are underway to hold a memorial for Haim in L.A. that will be open to the public.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press
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PM confronts marijuana issue in YouTube interview
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Mar. 16 2010 22:28 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 17th, 2010
After a mysterious delay of more than an hour, Prime Minister Stephen Harper took another step into the world of YouTube on Tuesday evening, with a pre-taped interview that addressed a range of issues including Canada's marijuana laws.
Harper dismissed the idea of legalizing the drug during the interview, which was moderated by Patrick Pichette, Google's chief financial officer.
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Prime Minister Stephen Harper appears in a pre-recorded interview on YouTube, Monday, February 16, 2010.
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"I guess as a parent, this is the last thing I want to see from my kids," Harper said. "I don't meet many people who've led a drug-free life that regret it. And I've met a lot that haven't, and regretted it."
Buying marijuana, he added, means supporting "international cartels that are involved in unimaginable violence, intimidation, social disaster and catastrophe all across the world."
The interview was based on questions submitted last week through a YouTube web page decorated with an image of Harper sandwiched between Parliament Hill and the Canadian flag.
Those who visited the site could vote on whether they liked or disliked submitted questions and, as of Tuesday evening, watch the taped interview.
Internet users submitted nearly 2,000 questions, many of which had to do with marijuana use. Other questions addressed law enforcement or oil prices.
Representatives of Google, which owns YouTube, chose which questions Harper was asked.
The interview was originally scheduled to air at 7 p.m. ET but was eventually broadcast about an hour and 15 minutes later.
The delay prompted a series of barbs from bloggers and devotees of online social networking sites. On Twitter, users quipped that the prime minister had prorogued his own interview. Others joked that he must have mistakenly logged on to the infamous online forum ChatRoulette instead of YouTube.
By 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the interview had been viewed 305 times. More than 80 people had rated it. The average rating was 2.5 stars out of 5.
In his first response, Harper defended the Conservative government's economic recovery plan. Next, he tackled Canada's foreign aid commitment to Africa. Canada's foreign-aid spending will increase 8 per cent over the next year, before flat-lining the following year, he said.
"We're in a position in Canada that we can maintain these strong levels of international support without having to cut them to reduce our deficit," Harper said. "That's what we want to continue to do."
Later, the prime minister again denied allegations that his government failed to address instances in where prisoners were mistreated by Afghan authorities after they were delivered by Canadian troops.
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"When problems have arisen, and we have had instances where there has been basic evidence of mistreatment at the hands of the Afghan government, then corrective actions have been taken," Harper said during the 40-minute interview. "But that has been relatively infrequently."
"A lot of loose accusations have been thrown around, but really no evidence."
The prime minister reiterated his support for creating an elected Senate, and said he would continue to appoint new senators in the absence of such elections.
The interview included a number of other questions on climate change, the seal hunt, post-secondary student loans and Quebec sovereignty, among other issues.
Some of the questions submitted to the web page had a satirical bent, but were not posed to the prime minister. In one, a cartoon of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin inquired about Harper's decision to prorogue Parliament.
"You are what we call in Alaska, a pansy," the cartoon Palin said. "Is it a Canadian tradition for Canadian leaders to run away and hide? If a president did what you did, there would be rioting in the streets. How did you get away with it?"
The web page was 14th on YouTube's weekly popularity rankings for Canada. It edged out a page from toilet-paper brand Cottonnelle, but was well behind another that's owned by potato chip-maker Doritos Canada.
Harper has been criticized for avoiding questions from the media by speaking directly to Canadians through advertisements or other avenues.
His YouTube appearance follows a similar offering from U.S. President Barack Obama, who took questions on the popular video-sharing website relating to his State of the Union Address in late January.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff
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Canadians warned against travel to Mexican city
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Mar. 16 2010 07:53 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 16th, 2010
Ottawa is warning Canadians not to travel to a city in northern Mexico that has seen a rising tide of violence, which recently claimed the lives of an American couple with ties to the local U.S. consulate.
The Foreign Affairs website advises Canadians to avoid travelling to the border city of Ciudad Juarez unless it is absolutely necessary, citing "escalating violence linked to drug trafficking."
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Federal police patrol outside the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Monday, March 15, 2010. (AP / Miguel Tovar)
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"Travellers are advised to reconsider their need to travel to Ciudad Juarez and should only do so if it is absolutely necessary," the warning reads on the government website.
The warning came after two Americans -- 35-year-old Lesley Enriquez and her 34-year-old husband, Arthur Redelfs -- were shot dead last weekend near the Santa Fe International Bridge, which links Ciudad Juarez with the border town of El Paso, Tex.
The couple were reportedly travelling home from a children's party in their SUV when they were killed. Their one-year-old baby survived the attack. Mexican officials said Enriquez was pregnant at the time of her death.
The killings remain under investigation, though authorities suspect drug gangsters are responsible. Enriquez worked as an assistant in the Ciudad Juarez consulate's visa section, though it is unclear if that was a motive for the attack that claimed her life.
The U.S. State Department is also warning American citizens to "delay unnecessary travel" to parts of Durango, Coahuila and Chihuahua states as a result of the recent violence.
It considers Ciudad Juarez to be of "special concern" for American tourists who have been victims of violence in the Chihuahua state city.
The state department website reports that "more than 2,600 people" were killed in Ciudad Juarez in 2009, a year in which more than 16,000 car thefts and 1,900 carjackings were reported.
In January, Mexico announced that it would send 2,000 federal police officers to Ciudad Juarez to assist in the crack down on local drug traffickers. The troop boost came in addition to local police and another 6,000 troops already involved in the same type of operations.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press
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Avalanche victims accounted for in B.C.
Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. Mar. 15 2010 08:30 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 15th, 2010
Authorities in British Columbia believe they have accounted for everyone who was involved in a weekend avalanche in the province's backcountry, which one veteran snowmobiler said produced one of the worst paths of destruction he'd ever seen.
The avalanche happened at Boulder Mountain in Revelstoke, B.C., on Saturday afternoon, where a group of 200 people were watching the annual Big Iron Shoot-Out -- an informal skills competition that draws snowmobile enthusiasts every year.
Two Albertans died in the avalanche -- Kurtis Reynolds, 33, of Strathmore, Alta., and Shay Snortland, 33 of Lacombe, Alta.
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Search and rescue workers stand amongst wreckage and debris in the area where a large avalanche occurred near Revelstoke, B.C., Sunday, March 14, 2010. (Jeff Bassett / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
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Another 31 people ended up in hospital, including one who was in critical condition.
The RCMP spent the weekend conducting thorough checks of local motels and houses, concluding that they have accounted for everyone who was known to be in the Boulder Mountain area at the time of the avalanche.
RCMP Cpl. Dan Moskaluk said Sunday that there was no one else that the RCMP was looking for and they had received no new reports of missing individuals.
"All the persons we had on these lists of names have been accounted for and have been checked off the lists," Moskaluk said.
"We're in a far different situation than we were just over 24 hours ago with a report of over 200 people being possibly affected by this slide. We're very fortunate, albeit though we do have two fatalities as a result of this incident."
The RCMP believes Saturday's avalanche was likely triggered when snowmobilers were high-marking -- taking their machines to the highest point of the mountain they could reach, before turning back to safer ground. The incident remains under investigation.
When the snow began to tumble down the mountain, dozens of spectators were watching from a place where they thought they were safe. In reality, they were too close to the action and became trapped in the ensuing disaster.
Survivor Ben Bassaraba, of Fernie, B.C., said he was tossed 200 metres by the snow.
Bassaraba told Kamloops radio station CHNL that he was eating lunch when the wave of snow came crashing down on him and the others around him.
"Everybody I could see went under. It was so massive, there was nowhere you could go, anyways," Bassaraba told the radio station as he recovered in hospital on Sunday.
"I should have been way down deep, I don't know how I ended up on top. I was lucky, but there's people less lucky, that's for sure."
‘Massive debris field'
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Mark Shaede, the president of a local snowmobile tour company, was about two kilometers away when the avalanche hit on Saturday morning.
He and other snowmobilers rushed to the scene, where they saw "a massive debris field" that the avalanche produced.
"Certainly, in my 30 years of snowmobiling in this area, I've never seen anything as large as that," Shaede told CTV's Canada AM during an interview from Revelstoke on Monday morning.
"Several people were partly covered with snow, were obviously involved in the avalanche. And the eyewitness reports were that there were people buried."
Police credited the quick work of volunteers like Shaede, for pulling people out of the snow shortly after the disaster.
As of Monday morning, Shaede said about 20 snowmobiles remain at the disaster site, down from the 40-45 that were initially trapped on Saturday afternoon.
CTV's Vancouver Bureau Chief Rob Brown, said the incident has left some people suggesting it may be time to crack down on snowmobilers engaging in activities that are unnecessarily reckless.
"There's a lot of talk in the community -- the snowmobiling community and the community at large -- about why people are taking these risks ," Brown told CTV's Canada AM from Revelstoke.
"Yesterday, B.C.'s solicitor general faced some tough questions about whether or not the province should be weighing in on this with some sort of punitive measure for those caught in the back country when avalanche warnings had been issued."
The Canadian Avalanche Centre routinely issues regional warnings to alert snowmobilers of local conditions.
The organization's public avalanche bulletins manager, Karl Klassen, said the goal is give people the information they need to stay safe.
"Our job is really to give people the information they need to make those kinds of informed decisions in the backcountry," Klassen told CTV's Canada AM from Revelstoke on Monday morning.
"And when you have 200 people on a slope beneath an avalanche path of this magnitude, under these conditions, you start wondering whether those folks have actually gotten the information that you've been trying to get to them and whether they are making an informed decision about what they are doing there or whether they are just taking a chance in the mountains, which is a very serious problems."
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
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Scientists warn of demise of Canadian climate research
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. Mar. 14 2010 14:09 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 14th, 2010
MONTREAL — When government funding for a foundation dedicated to climate research dries up at the end of the year, scientists say the aftershocks of its departure will be felt not only in Canada but by researchers around the globe.
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The 2010 federal budget, unveiled this month, offered no new cash to the decade-old Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences, a group that has been financing research on everything from melting glaciers to drought on the Prairies to the thawing permafrost.
The disappearance of a foundation that has made contributions to global initiatives on climate change is worrying for some in the international scientific community.
"There have been many countries that I think have been key players and I've always looked at Canada as being one of them," said Keith Seitter, executive director of the American Meteorological Society.
"It's disheartening to hear that there may be efforts there to actually pull back on some of them."
Through the foundation's networks, Canadian scientists have contributed to the World Climate Research Programme and the North American Carbon Program.
More than 40 researchers funded by the foundation have also worked on assessment reports published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Since its creation in 2000, the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences has been a major source of financing and co-ordination for projects that gather and crunch data.
The foundation has bankrolled $110 million of research, but hasn't received any new funding since the Conservative government was elected in 2006.
Last winter, it made a formal request for $25 million annually over 10 years.
Its existing mandate runs until March 2012, but without a fresh cash injection the 12 research networks currently under its umbrella will be shuttered by the end of 2010.
Seitter said it's surprising to see Canada pull the plug, especially at a time when many nations are boosting climate and atmospheric research.
"Most countries are really continuing to invest heavily in both aspects of that because they recognize it as a serious global issue," Seitter said in an interview from Boston.
"All of those sorts of networks are vitally important to provide the worldwide coverage of high-quality data that we need, and the Canadians have actually been terrific resources for the whole climate issue."
Environment Minister Jim Prentice's office says even though there's no new funding for the foundation, the government remains committed to basic climate-change research.
A spokesman for Prentice said that under the International Polar Year program the government has invested about $100 million in 44 scientific projects, including climate-change research.
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Frederic Baril said Arctic research facilities have also received an $87-million investment over two years.
"This is not the end of climate-change research in Canada," he wrote in an email.
"We recognize and appreciate the work that has been undertaken by the foundation."
"Other people in other countries don't see this as being a good thing -- they say 'Oh wow, that's not a good idea,' " he said.
"It's difficult for us. We feel it's a little bit short-sighted in the sense that climate is one of the larger environmental problems that face Canadians."
Even if the research is eventually restarted, if it does come to an end, gaps in the data would create challenges in that any future information gathered would not be consistent with years of work, he said.
"(The foundation's) lifespan has been such that it's allowed some networks to continue work for long enough that they've got an important body of information," Voogt said.
Canada also risks losing many of its climate experts to foreign projects, he added.
"You're taking your gold-medal hockey team and you're splitting up a lot of the players, and some of them are going to leave the country," Voogt said.
University of Manitoba professor Ronald Stewart, who co-leads the Drought Research Initiative network, said scientists from abroad have been trying to emulate their work.
"The world would lose a leader in comprehensive drought research," Stewart wrote in an email.
"We are trying our best to apply our knowledge now, but it is the tip of the iceberg as to what we could have done. We have affected international programs and our science is viewed highly by all."
Dawn Conway, the foundation's executive director, said the research networks will submit their final reports to the government before the end of the mandate.
Without a new government commitment, many of the climate researchers under the foundation will be forced to put away their equipment and close their doors by the end of the calendar year, Conway said.
"Climate and weather have a tremendous impact on the Canadian economy, if you think of drought or tourism," she added.
"This work needs to be done. We need that knowledge."
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
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Man remanded in custody for eastern Ontario shootings
Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. Mar. 13 2010 12:41 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 13th, 2010
An 18-year-old man was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one of attempted murder Saturday in the shooting deaths of a mother and daughter in the small eastern Ontario community of Mountain View.
Dean Brown, of Belleville, Ont., appeared before a judge in Kingston through a video link in a hearing that lasted less than a minute and was ordered held in custody until his next court appearance Monday, CTV News' Omar Sachedina told CTV News Channel.
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"He was quite straight-faced," Sachedina said. "He didn't show much emotion."
He is to return to court Monday for a bail hearing, but the location of that appearance was not immediately available.
"They're being a little close-mouthed here in terms of exactly where he's being held and where he's going to appear," Bill Glisky, of the Belleville Intelligencer newspaper, told News Channel.
Tracy Hannah, 46, and her 14-year-old daughter Whitney were found dead in their home early Friday morning by police officers responding to a 911 call about a shooting.
Tracy's 18-year-old daughter, Shannon, was airlifted to Kingston General Hospital with serious injuries where she was listed in serious but stable condition Saturday.
Another young woman, a friend of the sisters, was in the house for a sleepover and escaped the shooting by hiding in a closet.
Glisky said Brown is believed to be an ex-boyfriend of Shannon Hannah, but that there is no word yet as to what possible motive may be behind the shootings.
"We do know they [Brown and Shannon] were involved. The information we have now seems to be that they had broken up but were still in touch with each other."
"But at this point the police are keeping the information they have very tight."
Sachedina said Brown had spent the night at the house Thursday after showing up at his ex-girlfriend's home and saying he had nowhere to stay.
Ted Hannah, the victims' husband and father, returned home from working an overnight shift early Friday and discovered the awful scene, according to neighbours.
OPP Sgt. Kristine Rae said post-mortem examinations on the two victims are scheduled for Monday at the Ontario coroner's office in Trenton.
Brown was arrested at about 9:30 a.m. Friday in nearby Trenton, after a three-hour search and a car chase.
The rural neighbourhood where the shootings occurred remained sealed off as police forensic investigators combed the property.
"It's a very quiet street -- this is very out of character for this area," said Jen Snider, who lives down the street. "It's very scary. It's a quiet neighbourhood and we all know everybody."
While many of those on the street are long-time residents, the Hannah family had only moved in relatively recently, Snider said.
"They were pretty quiet," she said. "They kept to themselves mostly."
Written by CTV.ca News Staff
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Edmonton parents take Baby Isaiah off life support
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. Mar. 11 2010 20:15 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 12th, 2010
A brain-damaged infant has died in his parents' arms in Edmonton, after they decided to drop their court battle to keep him on life support.
Isaiah James May died at about 12 p.m. on Thursday, according to Rosanna Saccomani, the lawyer for parents Rebecka and Isaac May.
In a statement read by Saccomani, the parents said they had continued to hope their son's condition would improve, but made the decision when it was clear he was not getting better.
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Isaiah May, who suffered severe brain damage when he was born in October with his umbilical cord around his neck, is seen in this undated handout photo.
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"All along it was our hope that his condition would brighten and improve. It has not," the statement said. "Isaiah has been a blessing to us and his spirit will always be in our hearts. We have set our tiny miracle free and he is now in the arms of angels."
Since the infant's birth in October, Rebecka and Isaac May had been fighting to keep him alive while they consulted further with medical experts for a second opinion on their baby's prognosis.
Dr. Richard Taylor, a neonatologist at Victoria General Hospital, had arrived in Edmonton last month to assess Isaiah's case.
In a statement issued Thursday, Taylor said he examined the infant on Feb. 19 and 20 and determined he was not in any distress and, as the Mays had said, he did have movement in his limbs and torso.
"But on testing the nerves entering and leaving his brain, I confirmed that his reflexes were all completely absent. He was also unable to breathe for himself without airway and ventilator support," he said.
After consulting with other specialists following his examination of the infant, Taylor said he advised the Mays that the boy would never recover.
"He would remain ventilator dependent for the duration of his life," the statement said. "As Isaiah would never recover, we agreed that this degree of life support was no longer appropriate."
Isaiah James May was born at the local hospital in the town of Rocky Mountain House, west of Red Deer. During the difficult 40-hour labour, his umbilical cord became wrapped around his neck, cutting off his oxygen.
The newborn was airlifted to Edmonton's Stollery Children's Hospital. There, doctors determined he had sustained severe brain damage.
Doctors at the hospital said the infant had no hope of regaining brain function and had planned to disconnect him from a ventilator on Jan. 20.
In a statement, Alberta Health Services expressed sympathy for the Mays.
"All Alberta Health Services' physicians and staff who have been involved in caring for Baby Isaiah were touched by the May family's strength," the statement said. "Our deepest sympathies go out to the family. At this time we would ask that the family's request for privacy be respected."
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A court appearance Thursday to determine ongoing care for Isaiah had earlier been cancelled.
After a court date last month, Saccomani had said the Mays might come to a decision on their own time.
The Mays received a letter from Alberta Health Services in January stating that all medical procedures had been exhausted and that their son would never recover from the lack of oxygen during birth.
The Mays convinced a judge to grant them more time to find a second opinion.
The Mays wanted 90 days to seek their own independent medical review of their son's condition.
The hospital and Alberta Health Services had argued that 30 days should have been long enough.
At the first court date, the judge put over the case until Feb. 19.
Last month, the Mays were granted more time to consult as Taylor arrived in Edmonton to examine the infant. The process of finding medical experts to consult on their son's case has been difficult. Some were reluctant to get involved with a case with such a high media profile; others charged fees well beyond the Mays' means.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
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Australians disgusted by attack on disabled Manitoban
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. Mar. 11 2010 08:25 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 11th, 2010
A wheelchair-bound Manitoba man remains in hospital after a brutal beating in Australia, which has left that country's citizens shocked by the predatory nature of the attack.
Two teenage suspects have been charged in the attack on Heath Proden, who was attacked on a Sydney train platform on Tuesday evening.
The 35-year-old Proden has been in Sydney since last November, visiting his girlfriend.
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Heath Proden is seen in this December 2009 family handout photo in Blue Mountains (NSW), Australia.
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Proden had just attended a concert by Manitoba country band Doc Walker -- made up of band members from his hometown of Portage la Prairie -- when he was attacked.
New South Wales police say Proden's assailants approached him on the train platform, before they punched him in the face and knocked him to the ground. They then stomped on him and beat him with metal bars, police allege.
Australian freelance journalist Tim Stackpool said Proden did his best to get away from his attackers, who pursued him to the elevator where the attack was caught on tape by security cameras. It was also witnessed by a railway employee.
"These two young attackers were verbally abusing him and then he moved to the lift (elevator) to try and escape, but that's when he was caught and the attack took place," Stackpool told CTV's Canada AM in a telephone interview from Sydney on Thursday morning.
Doctors say Proden did not suffer neurological damage in the attack, but he did have to undergo surgery to repair fractures in his skull.
Proden's mother, Shellan Proden, has confirmed to CTV that his procedure went well and that he is in good spirits following his surgery.
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His girlfriend, Kristin Sharrock, told reporters in Sydney that Proden is "a wonderful, kind and generous, strong individual."
"He's been through a lot in his life and he doesn't deserve what is happening to him."
The crime has been a black eye for Australia, with the story making headlines around the world in the past two days.
Stackpool said Australian citizens are horrified by what happened to Proden.
"The feeling around the country today is one of disbelief and of anger," he said.
"Australia and Sydney, of course, is a place that is world-renowned for its hospitality and its warmth of people and this is a message that it really doesn't want to be sent to the rest of the world," said Stackpool.
Proden has been in a wheelchair since he was injured in a snowmobile accident 10 years ago.
His father, John Proden, told The Canadian Press that his son was targeted at a time when his life was on an upswing.
"He was just smitten with joy that everything was so good in his life. He was so happy and he had found this very compatible girl," said John Proden, who still lives in Portage la Prairie.
Shellan Proden, said she was "absolutely devastated" by the attack on her son.
"You couldn't fathom it. I still can't and I haven't looked at the video," Proden told CTV Edmonton at her home in Winnipeg Beach, Man.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press and a report from CTV Winnipeg's Eleanor Coopsammy
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Rahim Jaffer pleads guilty to careless driving
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Mar. 09 2010 23:02 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 10th, 2010
Former Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer pleaded guilty to careless driving Tuesday and was sentenced to a $500 fine, while cocaine possession and drunk driving charges against the one-time anti-drug activist were withdrawn.
"I'm sure you can recognize a break when you see one," Judge Doug Maund told Jaffer in an Orangeville, Ont. court.
Jaffer refused to talk about his guilty plea under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act following his court appearance, but he apologized for the incident.
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Rahim Jaffer leaves the courthouse in Orangeville, Ontario on Tuesday March 9, 2010. (Chris Young / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
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"I should have been more careful. I'm sorry. I know this is a serious matter," he said. "Once again I apologize for that and I take full responsibility for my careless driving."
The former Edmonton-area MP, 38, was charged last September with cocaine possession and impaired driving after being stopped by police officers for speeding in Palgrave, Ont., about 60 kilometres north of Toronto.
According to an agreed statement of facts, Jaffer was pulled over driving 93 km/h in a 50 km/h zone on Sept. 10.
The court heard that Jaffer told police that he drank two beers earlier that evening. He was driving to his home in Angus, Ont., in his Ford Escape when he was pulled over by police, failed a breathalyzer test and was arrested.
Prosecutor Marie Balogh told the court there was no reasonable possibility of conviction on the more serious charges of cocaine possession and drunk driving, saying there were "significant legal issues" impeding the case.
"The matter was carefully reviewed," Balogh told Maund.
Jaffer's lawyer, Howard Rubel, spoke briefly to reporters.
"The charges of driving over the legal limit and possession of any illegal substance has always been refuted and I think the withdrawal of those charges vindicates that refutation," he said outside of court.
Jaffer has 30 days to pay the fine and has already made a $500 donation to the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Opposition reaction
The Liberals have asked the federal government to order an appeal in Jaffer's case. The plea bargain contradicts promises by the Tories to get tough on crime, Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh said.
New Democrat public safety critic Joe Comartin suggested that Jaffer had received preferential treatment.
"On the surface it's very clear I think to the average Canadian that, had they been faced with the same set of facts, at the very least they would have had a trial," Comartin said on CTV's Power Play. "There's no way the Crown would have withdrawn this without a very clear explanation.
"Why was the cocaine possession charge dropped?" he asked. "No explanation has come forward at this point, and there has to be."
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The plea deal sparked an angry exchange during question period in the House of Commons.
"What is the government's comment on a dangerous driver in possession of illicit drugs getting off with no record and a $500 slap on the wrist?" asked Liberal MP Anita Neville.
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson responded: "There would never be any political interference with any prosecution in this country."
Meanwhile the Prime Minister's Office offered little comment on the matter.
"I would simply point to the fact that it was judged and prosecuted under provincial law," said PMO spokesperson Dimitri Soudas.
Opposition parties have asked the Ontario's attorney general to clarify the court's ruling.
Jaffer was first elected as an MP in 1997 at the age of 25, and is married to junior federal cabinet minister Helena Guergis. He lost his riding in the 2008 election.
During his time as an MP, Jaffer became known for his tough stance on illicit drugs. He spoke in several Tory public-service announcements on radio that demanded stronger sentences for drug dealers.
Jaffer also found himself in a minor scandal in 2001. He made an emotional apology in the House of Commons after it was discovered he had an aide impersonate him on a radio show.
Guergis recently had to deliver a public apology of her own for "speaking emotionally" to staff at the Charlottetown airport in February. Witnesses said she berated Air Canada employees and yelled obscenities at security staff.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with a report from CTV's Daniele Hamamdjian and files from The Canadian Press
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Britons demand details about notorious toddler killer
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Mar. 09 2010 08:14 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 9th, 2010
British authorities are under pressure from the public to disclose more information about why Jon Venables -- one of two former schoolboys convicted of killing a toddler in 1993 -- has returned to jail.
Authorities recently disclosed that the 27-year-old Venables had been taken into custody after violating the terms of his release from prison. Justice Secretary Jack Straw has confirmed the allegations do not involve murder, but it has not been revealed what Venables is specifically accused of doing.
When Venables was 10 years old, he and his 10-year-old friend Robert Thompson lured two-year-old James Bulger away from a Liverpool shopping centre. They beat the toddler to death and left his body near a railway line.
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This police handout photo dated Feb. 20, 1993 shows Jon Venables. An official said Wednesday, March 3, 2010 that Venables one of the killers of British toddler James Bulger in 1993 is back behind bars after violating the conditions of his release.
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Venables and Thompson were later convicted of Bulger's abduction and murder, but were released from custody in 2001.
Given new identities upon their release, the public has long demanded to know more about what happened to the two young men linked to the notorious 1993 crime.
But CTV's Tom Kennedy says the British government is in a bind -- it cannot give the public the information it craves, though it understands why people are concerned.
"The government insists that the new identities of the two formerly 10-year-old murderers must be kept secret for two reasons," Kennedy told CTV's Canada AM from London on Tuesday morning.
"One is that if they are charged with any criminal offence in the future, if their original identities are known, it would be almost impossible for them to get a fair trial because they are so notorious in this country.
"And the second reason is that there is so much public outrage about what happened…that there is a real concern that these two now-young men could be killed if their true identities were known."
Their victim's mother, Denise Fergus, has suggested it is her right to know what is happening with her son's killers. And she has found it hard to cope after hearing that Venables is suspected of involvement in new crimes.
"It has been up and down, I have been very emotional. My head has been all over the place. I don't know what he has done," Fergus told Britain's ITV television recently.
"I don't know whether he has gone on to kill someone else."
Straw has promised to speak to Fergus and Bulger's father about the case.
Kennedy said that Bulger's mother is one of many Britons who believe they should be able to know more about the infamous pair of former schoolboys.
"She is saying that she has a right to know if one of them has re-offended, as she warned 17 years ago when they were 10-year-old boys and they were originally sentenced," Kennedy said.
"But not just the mother of the victim…there is a broad public demand to know more about what has happened to these two individuals."
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press
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At least 57 dead after earthquake hits eastern Turkey
Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. Mar. 08 2010 06:05 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 8th, 2010
OKCULAR VILLAGE, Turkey — A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6 struck eastern Turkey on Monday, killing 57 people as it knocked down stone or mud-brick houses and minarets in at least six villages, the government said.
The government's crisis centre said about 100 other people were injured in the quake, which hit at 4:32 a.m. (0232 GMT, 9 p.m. EST Sunday) in Elazig province, about 550 kilometres east of Ankara, the capital.
The earthquake, which caught many people as they slept, was centred near the village of Basyurt and followed by more than 30 aftershocks, the strongest measuring 5.5 and 5.1, the Kandilli seismology centre said.
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Rescue workers and people remove rubble from a destroyed house in Okcular village in the eastern province of Elazig, Turkey, Monday, March 8, 2010, hours after a strong earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6, hit eastern Turkey early Monday. (AP Photo/ Omer Fansa, Anatolia)
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The worst-hit area was the village of Okcular, where some 17 people were killed and homes crumbled into piles of dirt. Another 13 people were killed in the village of Yukari Demirci, Gov. Muammer Erol said.
By noon, everyone had been removed from the rubble and there was no one left buried inside the debris, Erol said.
"Everything has been knocked down, there is not a stone in place," said Yadin Apaydin, administrator for the village of Yukari Kanatli, where he said at least three villagers died.
Authorities blocked access to Okcular so ambulances and rescue teams could manoeuvr on the village's narrow roads. Relatives rushed to the village for news of their loved ones.
"The village is totally flattened," village administrator Hasan Demirdag told private NTV television.
Ali Riza Ferhat, an Okcular resident, said he was woken up by the jolt.
"I tried to get out of the door but it wouldn't open. I came out of the window and started helping my neighbours," he told NTV television. "We removed six bodies."
Villagers lit fires to keep warm.
The quake was felt in the neighbouring provinces of Tunceli, Bingol and Diyarbakir, where residents fled to the streets in panic and spent the night outdoors.
Some of the injuries occurred during the panic, when people jumped from windows or balconies. Video from the Dogan news agency showed residents bringing the injured to hospitals by cars and taxis.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Kandilli Observatory's director, Mustafa Erdik, urged residents not to enter any damaged homes, warning that they could topple from aftershocks that Erdik said could last for days.
Television footage showed rescue workers and soldiers at Okcular lifting debris as villagers looked on. Rescuers dug into the dirt, finding the body of an elderly man, and quickly covered him with a sheet.
Two women sat on mattresses wrapped in blankets. The temblor also knocked down barns, killing farm animals.
Turkey's Red Crescent organization sent tents and blankets to the region. Erdogan said ambulance helicopters, prefabricated homes and mobile kitchens were also being sent.
Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, much of which lies on top of the North Anatolian fault. In 1999, two powerful earthquakes struck northwestern Turkey, killing about 18,000 people.
In 2007, an earthquake measuring 5.7 damaged buildings in Elazig, briefly trapping a woman under debris. In 2003, an earthquake measuring 6.4 magnitude collapsed a school dormitory in the neighbouring province of Bingol, killing 83 children. The collapse was blamed on poor construction.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press
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Day defends finance minister's late-night flight
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. Mar. 07 2010 13:02 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 7th, 2010
The federal government's plan to set a positive economic example for Canadians by curbing its own operational spending was not harmed by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's flight to London, Ont., this week, the treasury board president said Sunday.
Speaking with CTV's Question Period from Calgary, Stockwell Day said Flaherty needed to take a late night flight from Ottawa Thursday to arrive in London in time to make a "whole line-up of back to back meetings.
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Treasury Board president Stockwell Day speaks with CTV's Question Period from Calgary on Sunday, March 7, 2010.
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Flaherty had come under fire for reportedly taking a $9,000 flight on a government Challenger jet to London a day after delivering a budget that promised to reign in government spending. Day said the government's use of Challenger jets was lower than that of previous governments and it would stay that way.
In Thursday's budget, the government announced it would reign in spending in the public service to combat the $53.8-billion deficit. The public service loses about 13,000 public servants each year, for retirement and other reasons, Day said.
Each department will have the flexibility to handle the cuts as they see fit, Day said, but he did not rule out the idea that some of the cost curbing will come through attrition.
The move has not put the government on a collision course with the public service, Day said.
"There's lots of room for adjustment here, and we're simply saying we have to hold our spending," Day said. "I will be asking our public servants to help us do that."
And Canadians are ready to follow the government's example and gird for a more austere period, Day said.
"When they hear that we're doing this to ourselves, to our own operations … I think that's where Canadians are, not for a massive slash-and-burn program," he said.
Opposition MPs criticized the budget for its lack of detail about the government's plan to curb spending.
"When they're predicting that they're going to reduce the budget by $8 billion by cutting government spending between now and 2014, it's completely unrealistic because they haven't given the slightest indication as to how they're going to do that," NDP MP Thomas Mulcair told Question Period.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff
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Canadians enjoy a warm, sunny respite from winter
Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. Mar. 06 2010 14:52 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 6th, 2010
Winter may be far from over, but weather-weary Canadians are at least enjoying a break this weekend as unseasonably warm, sunny conditions blanketed most of the country.
From Iqaluit to Quebec City, temperatures were sitting above daily average highs for this time of year, according to Environment Canada.
And except for St. John's and Winnipeg, the sun was shining from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. Even rainy Vancouver had clear skies.
In Montreal, the mercury was forecast to reach a balmy 10 C Saturday afternoon, more than 6 C above the city's average high for a March day, according to the agency.
Yellowknife residents were enjoying unusually warm -6 C weather, while the temperature reached 6 C in Edmonton.
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A Toronto woman takes advantage of the bright sunshine to exercise outdoors on March 5, 2010.
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In Saskatoon and Ontario, some northern communities were as temperate as those in southern regions. Saskatoon broke the freezing mark while Regina reached -5 C. The temperature in Thunder Bay, Ont., reached 9 C. In Toronto it hit 8 C.
The spring-like weather will to continue through the weekend in many parts of the country, Environment Canada predicted.
St. John's was one of the few Canadian cities that wasn't bathed in sunlight Saturday afternoon. A heavy rainfall warning was in effect for the area Saturday morning, but Environment Canada ended the warning by 2:30 p.m. ET.
Meanwhile residents outside St. John's were suffering from a power outage caused by recent freezing rain, local media reported.
The outage was affecting Bonavista Peninsula, the northeast Avalon and Bell Island. Power in the area was expected to be restored on Sunday.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff
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Contamination scare leads to food recalls in Canada
Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. Mar. 05 2010 09:36 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 5th, 2010
The recall in the U.S. of a commonly used food additive because of a risk of salmonella poisoning has sparked the recall of a number of food products in Canada -- and could lead to more.
The additive is a flavour enhancer called hydrolyzed vegetable protein, or HVP. Some batches of the ingredient shipped from a Las Vegas-based company called Basic Food Flavors Inc. have tested positive for salmonella bacteria.
Because of the health worry, a number of food items are already being recalled in Canada.
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The Canadian Food Inspection Agency are warning the public not to consume certain T. Marzetti brand Veggie Dips because these products may be contaminated with Salmonella.
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Certain T. Marzetti-brand veggie dips were pulled from the shelves this week, as were certain flavours of Hawaiian-style potato chips and rings made by Tim's Cascade Snacks.
The Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. says it has analyzed samples at a Basic Food Flavors facility and found a bacteria called Salmonella Tennessee in the company's processing equipment. The company is now recalling all hydrolyzed vegetable protein that it produced since mid-September, 2009.
So far, no illnesses have been reported. But the FDA has asked a variety of food companies to recall more than 30 products in the U.S. and says it doesn't know how many more products might need to be recalled.
Since HVP is used in thousands of products across the U.S. and Canada, more recalls are expected. Hydrolyzed vegetable protein is a common ingredient in processed foods including soups, sauces, hot dogs, gravies, seasoned snack foods, dips and dressings.
Not all products containing the questionable HVP will need to be recalled. Food items that are meant to be cooked likely won't be affected, since cooking generally kills salmonella.
Eating food contaminated with salmonella can cause salmonellosis, which can cause serious and sometimes deadly infections in young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.
In otherwise healthy people, salmonellosis can cause short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea.
Jeffrey Farrar, the FDA's associate commissioner for food protection, notes that the risk to consumers of getting sick is "very low," since HVP generally represents just one per cent of the total ingredients in a product.
While the risk to health from this recall is considered small, Farrar said it is just one more reason why Congress should pass new food safety legislation that would give the FDA more power.
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That legislation, called the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, would allow the FDA to force companies to recall products rather than to wait for them to do it voluntarily. It would also require companies to keep better records, and it would boost the number of inspections of food facilities, especially those handling risky foods.
"This situation clearly underscores the need for new food safety legislation to equip FDA with the tools we need to prevent contamination," he said in a news release.
The U.S. consumer advocacy group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, also says this latest recall is more proof that the FDA needs more authority to ensure the food supply is safe.
"Most Americans would be stunned to learn that FDA doesn't even have the authority to make recalls like these mandatory," the group said in a news release.
The CSPI also urged the passing of the food safety legislation, "so that the agency can help prevent contamination in the first place, rather than chase down tainted products long after they've left the manufacturer."
Here in Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it is "monitoring the effectiveness" of the recalls. It says consumers with questions can call the agency at 1-800-442-2342.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff
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Family of missing N.B. woman makes plea for help
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. Mar. 04 2010 08:20 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 4th, 2010
The family of Donna O'Rielly continues to hold out hope that the missing Moncton woman will come home soon, after she went missing more than five days ago.
The 54-year-old woman hasn't been seen since Friday night when she left work at H&R Block at the Highfield Square mall.
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Donna O'Rielly is seen in this undated family photo.
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She didn't get in her car, which was found in the mall parking lot, she hasn't used her credit cards, and she hasn't contacted loved ones.
Her family believes that she was abducted.
"There is no doubt in any of our minds that our mother did not leave on her own accord," her daughter Karen Streek told a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
About a dozen members of O'Rielly's extended family -- O'Rielly is one of 12 children -- held a news conference at the family home to make an emotional plea for the public's help.
They said she is not the kind of person who would abandon her family.
"She is an amazing mother and her family meant the world to her," her youngest daughter, Amy Popovich, told reporters through tears.
"She had a lot of exciting things going on in her life, and lots to look forward to in the immediate future. We just really want to find out where she is and have her back safe and sound with us."
Streek said her mother and father, Harold, were scheduled to take a long-planned trip to Florida in two weeks, to celebrate Harold's retirement after 35 years as an air traffic controller.
"So all week, she's been shopping for summer clothes for her trip. She's just at a very high point in her life right now," Streek said.
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Still, the family is hopeful O'Rielly will be found.
"If there's a way she can get through this, she will. She'll do everything. And I'm sure she's fighting very hard and racking her brain, she'll figure it out. If there's a way to get out of whatever she's in, she'll figure it out," said Popovich.
Searches from the air and on the ground so far have all produced nothing.
Video footage from inside the mall show the woman leaving her work. But what happened after that is unknown; none of the security cameras outside the mall were operating the night O'Rielly went missing.
"They've been broken for five years, and if only one of them had worked, we probably wouldn't be here right now," Streek said.
The family asked anyone who was at the mall between 6 and 9 p.m. last Friday night to contact the RCMP if they had information that might help in the search.
RCMP Const. Chantal Farrah, of the Codiac Regional RCMP, said the matter is being treated as a missing person's case, but the abduction theory has not been eliminated as a possibility.
O'Rielly is described as 1.6 m tall (5ft 3in), weighing 59 kg (130lbs). She has green eyes and shoulder-length brown hair. She was last seen wearing a brown medium-length suede-like jacket and jeans. She was also carrying a brown medium-size purse and lunch bag.
Anyone with information on the disappearance can call (506) 857-2400. Or, they can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Cannadian Press
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Crosby's golden gloves, stick missing: Hockey Canada
Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. Mar. 03 2010 10:25 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 3rd, 2010
They just secured their place in Canadian Olympic history and now they're missing.
Hockey Canada says the gloves and stick used by Sidney Crosby to score the winning goal in Canada's gold medal victory over the U.S. at the Vancouver Olympics have vanished.
Crosby flung the equipment in the air after his overtime goal in Canada's dramatic 3-2 win Sunday.
Hockey Canada official Johnny Misley says after the game, the equipment was collected and was put in the players' bags.
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Sidney Crosby leaps in the air after making the game-winning goal in the overtime period of a men's gold medal game in Vancouver, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. (AP /Chris O'Meara)
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Misley says it's not clear if it was mixed in with other equipment or if it was taken -- and they don't want to speculate on what happened.
He says the Hockey Hall of Fame wants Crosby's stick for its collection and has already received some equipment from Team Canada's members.
It's not the first time some of Crosby's gear has vanished.
In 2005, Crosby's jersey went missing after Canada's gold medal win over Russia at the world junior hockey championship in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
It was later found in a mailbox outside a post office in Lachute, Quebec.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Cannadian Press
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Chile looks for outside help in quake recovery
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Mar. 02 2010 08:49 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 2nd, 2010
Chile is reaching out for help from the international community as it tries to restore the basic necessities in its quake-ravaged cities and towns following last weekend's 8.8-magnitude disaster.
Chilean authorities have so far confirmed 723 deaths that can be attributed to the quake and its aftermath. Some 500,000 Chilean houses were also damaged or destroyed.
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A painting of Jesus Christ hangs from a damaged house in Iloca, Chile, Monday, March 01, 2010. (AP / Fernando Vergara)
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Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said hundreds of tons of food, water and other supplies were being shipped into disaster-ravaged areas by airplane.
Several South America countries rushed to Chile's aid following news of the quake. Argentina sent six planeloads filled with a field hospital, doctors and water treatment plants, all of which were to arrive by the end of Tuesday. Brazil also sent a field hospital, along with rescue teams.
Nathan Crooks, a Santiago-based editor with Business News Americas, said the Chilean government has been successful in getting food and water out to quake survivors, but needs help with its logistical supply efforts.
"They are seeing now that the more help you have the better. So, anyone who wants to help, they are going to accept it," Crooks told CTV's Canada AM by telephone.
Elisabeth Byrs, a UN humanitarian spokesperson, said Chile was looking for temporary bridges, field hospitals, satellite phones and generators, as well as water purification systems, field kitchens and dialysis equipment to help with its recovery. It also is seeking damage assessment teams as it further probes the devastation.
Tsunami-related deaths
Most of the deaths occurred in the wine-growing Maule region along Chile's south-central coast.
Less than half an hour after the quake, massive waves crashed onto coastal towns, though the Chilean navy did not immediately issue a tsunami warning -- a turn of events that Chilean Defence Minister Vidal has acknowledged was a mistake. Instead, local port captains called their own warnings, which Vidal said may have helped to save hundreds of lives.
In the resort town of Pelluhue, a group of 40 retirees were killed as they tried to escape the coming waves by bus. The water dragged the passengers to their presumed deaths and authorities have so far only found five of their bodies.
Claudio Escalona fled his home near the same campground where the retirees were staying.
"We ran through the highest part of town, yelling, 'Get out of your homes!'" Escalona told The Associated Press.
"About 20 minutes later came three waves, two of them huge, about six metres each, and a third even bigger. That one went into everything."
Escalona said survivors could "hear the screams of children, women, everyone."
Houses destroyed; family members, friends lost
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In the port town of Talcahuano, Mayor Gaston Saavedra said 80 per cent of the 180,000 residents are homeless following the quake.
"The port is destroyed. The streets, collapsed. City buildings, destroyed," said Saavedra.
Talcahuano resident Marioli Gatica and her family were sitting on the floor of her home when the tsunami crashed into its walls, tearing it apart.
"We were sitting there one moment and the next I looked up into the water and saw cables and furniture floating," Gatica said.
Her 11-year-old daughter survived the disaster by clinging to a tree while the wave retreated.
The family lost Gatica's 76-year-old mother, Nery Valdebenito, who she believes is trapped underneath her home.
Further north in the village of Dichato, Mayor Eduardo Aguilera said some residents fled for higher ground in advance of the tsunami threat, but returned too early and were caught by the giant waves.
Aguilera said 800 houses were destroyed and 49 village residents are still missing.
In Concepcion, the city hit hardest by the quake, authorities were still unable to restore power and police were trying to keep looting under control.
Nearly all of the city's markets had been ransacked for people looking for basic necessities including food, water and toilet paper.
Troops had imposed curfews in Concepcion, which were approved by Bachelet.
Restoring power for city residents also remains a challenge, Crooks said.
"They still don't have any power and we're a couple of days into this now," Crooks told CTV's Canada AM by telephone.
"The government has said that the problem with power is not generation or transmission, but it's the distribution lines that were just mostly destroyed. So, they're having to go street-by-street, house-by-house and literally reconnect everything."
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press
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Chilean police crack down on looters following quake
Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. Mar. 01 2010 12:48 ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: March 1st, 2010
Survivors of the deadly weekend quake in Chile are awaiting aid delivery, while security forces crack down on looters who violated an overnight curfew in the hard-hit central city of Concepcion.
A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile early Saturday morning, killing more than 700 people and damaging or destroying a half-million homes across the country.
In Concepcion, the biggest city closest to the earthquake's epicenter, the ground started rumbling at 3:34 a.m. on Saturday. It lasted only 90 seconds, but caused widespread damage.
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A resident looks at a destroyed house in Constitucion, Chile, on Monday, Feb. 29, 2010, after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck central Chile on Saturday. (AP / Roberto Candia)
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More than 500 kilometres north of Concepcion, in the Chilean capital of Santiago, buildings and bridges were damaged.
Nathan Crooks, an American editor with Business News Americas, was sleeping in his Santiago apartment when the rumbling started.
"The whole building began to shake and there was an incredible noise outside, it sounded like a freight train," Crooks told CTV News Channel by telephone on Monday morning.
"About halfway through the quake, all the power to the city got cut off and it was dark and it kept shaking. Things began to fall. And it just went on so long – that's what was so surprising about the quake. We're used to earthquakes in Chile, but this one, it was just very strong and went on and on and on."
The rumblings from Saturday's quake were felt as far away as Sao Paolo, Brazil -- almost 3,000 kilometres away.
Repeated aftershocks caused further destruction and forced Chileans into the streets throughout the weekend.
"If you're inside the house, the furniture moves," said Monica Aviles, when speaking to The Associated Press.
When an aftershock struck moments later, Aviles said "that's why we're here."
Crooks said the many dozens of aftershocks that followed the quake have paled in comparison to the rumblings that hit Saturday morning.
"I don't really even notice them any more, you kind of hear the walls in your house start to creak a little bit, but the aftershocks, they're nothing compared to the real quake," said Crooks.
Saturday's quake also caused massive waves that struck various coastal towns and Robinson Cruse Island, where they lashed at least three kilometres inland in the town of San Juan Bautista. Officials say five people were killed and more were injured.
Some coastal towns were left all but destroyed after the waves hit.
Chilean Defence Minister Francisco Vidal admitted that the navy had erred in not immediately issuing a tsunami warning following the quake.
The actions that local port captains took to warn residents likely saved hundreds of lives, Vidal said.
Quake ‘without parallel'
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Chilean President Michelle Bachelet called Saturday's quake an incident "without parallel" in the country's history and she promised to deliver needed supplies for the thousands of people rendered homeless in the aftermath of the disaster.
The president asked Chilean authorities to quickly find and identify the dead, so they can be returned to their families and buried appropriately. And she called on Chilean troops to deliver food and water to survivors, and to help clear roadways of debris.
The UN will immediately begin rushing aid and supplies to Chile, said UN humanitarian spokesperson Elisabeth Byrs.
"We are prepared to provide assistance," Byrs told The Associated Press in Geneva.
"It could be quite fast, given that our experts are on standby and were alerted in the region."
Byrs said the country was in need of temporary bridges and field hospitals, as well as other health and logistical supplies in the quake's aftermath.
Argentina intended to send six aircraft to Chile, packed with a field hospital, 55 doctors and water treatment equipment.
Concepcion Mayor Jacqueline van Rysselberghe said some food aid was arriving in her city Monday, though there was still now power and water was in short supply.
A rescue operation taking place in the city sought to find survivors inside a 70-unit building that had been brought down by the quake. Twenty-five survivors had been pulled from the building prior to Monday, as well as the bodies of eight people who died.
Fire Commander Juan Carlos Subercaseux said rescuers heard the knocks of survivors and firefighters were attempting to find them.
CNN reporter Brian Byrnes told CTV's Canada AM that Concepcion residents have been looting as they grow more desperate for aid, prompting the Chilean military to impose a curfew -- approved by Bachelet -- to keep order on the streets between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Concepcion police Chief Eliecer Soler said officers arrested 55 people overnight for violating the curfew and taking part in looting. On Monday, extra troops had arrived in the city to patrol and prevent further looting.
Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press
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