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Dad who killed son found not criminally responsible	30/09/05
Canadians being gouged at the pumps: report	29/09/05
Lynndie England gets 3-year sentence	28/09/05
Jean becomes Governor-General today	27/09/05
Anti-war protests demand withdrawal from Iraq	26/09/05
Sleek, solar-powered cars start race across Australia	25/09/05
Rita hits Gulf Coast	24/09/05
Gas price rumours cause panic across Canada	23/09/05
Man charged with murder of Alicia Ross	22/09/05
Rita now Category 4 storm, heading for Gulf Coast	21/09/05
PQ leadership candidate admits cocaine use	20/09/05
North Korea pledges to abandon nuclear arms development	19/09/05
Last year for Canada's tobacco farmers?	18/09/05
Ophelia picks up speed on path to Atlantic coast	17/09/05
Pakistan President's cry rape and go to Canada comments condemned	16/09/05
Melissa O'Neil, 17, becomes first female 'Idol'	15/09/05
Group says murder convict is innocent, calls for release	14/09/05
Mulroney devastated by Peter C. Newman book	13/09/05
Ontario Premier rejects use of Shariah law	12/09/05
Final costs of Katrina could be $300 billion	11/09/05
FEMA director pulled from hurricane relief	10/09/05
Police begin forced evacuations in New Orleans	09/09/05
Louisiana senator: Thank you Canada	08/09/05
20,000 Canadian cots sent for hurricane relief	07/09/05
155,000 moved out of Katrina damage area; Bush visits again	06/09/05
Saskatchewan turns 100, lights up sky and smiles	05/09/05
U.S. must be prepared for what's coming - thousands dead from Katrina	04/09/05
Amidst criticism and chaos, Bush concedes response to Katrina 'not acceptable'	03/09/05
New Orleans mayor blasts federal government for slow response	02/09/05
Canadian relief agencies start to help Katrina victims	01/09/05

Dad who killed son found not criminally responsible Web Posted | Last Updated Fri, 30 Sep 2005  11:50:45  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 30th, 2005
"We will probably never understand the desperation that led David Carmichael to take the life of his beloved son, Ian," Ontario Superior Court Justice Helen Rady told a packed London courtroom Friday. She found Carmichael not criminally responsible in his son's death. David Carmichael of Toronto killed his 11-year-old epileptic son Ian by drugging and suffocating him in a London, Ontario, Holiday Inn on July 31, 2004. Rady found Carmichael not criminally responsible because of a mental disorder. She was expected to decide later Friday what will happen to Carmichael now. Both Crown and defence lawyers have recommended that he should be sent to a mental health institution. Forensic psychiatrists testified during the emotional three-day trial that the 47-year-old father was suffering from severe depression and psychosis when he killed his son. They said Carmichael believed Ian was partially brain dead, and worried that the boy's aggression could lead him to kill his older sister. They said he believed that killing Ian would spare him a life of intolerable suffering. "There can be no doubt that Mr. Carmichael's beliefs were illogical, indefensible, and contrary to reality," Rady said. During the trial Rady heard emotional testimony from a former colleague of Carmichael's and from his twin brother Jeff, both of whom described the transformation of "a loving father" into a depressed, suicidal stranger. His family, Jeff Carmichael testified, has a history of depression and suicide. Written by CBC News Staff
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Canadians being gouged at the pumps: report Web Posted | Last Updated Thu, 29 Sep 2005  07:57:00  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 29th, 2005 A report due out today could confirm what some already suspect -- that Canadian oil companies are bringing in unwarranted price hikes amid public fears of gas shortages.
The price of crude oil has grown steadily over the last few months -- jumping $10 US a barrel between June and September. That is due in part to a series of devastating hurricanes along the U.S. Gulf Coast that have affected oil refineries. However, economist Hugh Mackenzie of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says the jump in the price of a barrel of oil is being over exaggerated at the pumps. For every $1 US increase in the price of oil, the price of gas should only increase by 0.8 cents a litre, including GST, he said. Using that formula, the $10 US increase that we have seen over the summer suggests gas prices should have only gone up seven to nine cents a litre. That would put gas prices at about 95 cents a litre, and not the more commonly seen prices over $1 a litre that have popped up at gas stations across the country, Mackenzie said. This report is sure to add fuel to arguments being made by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and the Canadian Automobile Association, who have both called on the government to take action. As well, Parliament opened this week with the Opposition calling on the Liberals to reduce the price of gasoline between two to five cents a litre. The government has agreed to establish a national body to monitor gas prices. It has also said it will introduce a relief package for low-income Canadians sure to struggle this winter with higher natural gas prices. However, Finance Minister Ralph Goodale has consistently said that he will not be reducing fuel taxes, saying there would be no long-term impact. Written by CTV.ca News Staff
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Lynndie England gets 3-year sentence Web Posted | Last Updated Tue, 27 Sep 2005  20:26:58  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 28th, 2005
U.S. Army Pfc. Lynndie England, who said she was only trying to please her soldier boyfriend when she took part in prisoner abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, was sentenced late Tuesday to three years behind bars. This wrapped up the last of nine courts-martial of low-level soldiers charged in the abuse scandal, which has severely damaged America's image and tarnished the reputation of the U.S. military. The jury of five Army officers needed about 90 minutes to determine their sentence. The charges carried up to nine years, but prosecutor Capt. Chris Graveline asked the jury to imprison her for four to six years. The defense asked for no time behind bars. England sat with her eyes forward as the verdict was read, occasionally looking down. During her unsworn statement to the jurors earlier Tuesday, England had blamed Pvt. Charles Graner Jr. for what she did. "I was used by Pvt. Graner," she said. "I didn't realize it at the time." England, the most recognizable of the nine enlisted soldiers charged in the scandal after photos of the abuse became public, had been convicted Monday of six of the seven counts she faced. Her defence has maintained throughout the trial that she took part in the prisoner abuse to please Graner, who prosecutors labeled the ringleader of the abuse by a group of U.S. troops. Earlier Tuesday, defense witness Stjepan Mestrovic, a sociology professor at Texas A&M University who has interviewed England, said officers in charge failed to control the guards, creating stressful conditions that disoriented her and led her to take part in the mistreatment.
"She was caught up in this chaotic situation like everyone else," said Mestrovic, who also testified that officers at Abu Ghraib "knew or should have known what was going on." That testimony was supported by Graner, who's now serving a 10-year sentence. He said he once severely beat a detainee while military intelligence personnel watched. England, a 22-year-old reservist and former chicken factory worker from rural West Virginia, was photographed at Abu Ghraib holding a naked prisoner on a leash. In other images, she posed with a pyramid of naked detainees and pointed at the genitals of a prisoner while a cigarette hung from the corner of her mouth. She is pictured in several images giving a thumbs-up to the camera while posed with prisoners. Her court-martial was the last of the nine. Two Abu Ghraib guards were convicted earlier, and six others struck plea bargains. No officers have gone to trial, though several have received administrative punishment. Graner, 37, testified that he, England and others who worked the overnight shift in a high-security section of Abu Ghraib had scant supervision. "It seems like the junior soldiers were on their own," Graner said. "We had little leadership." Graner said he told officers about prisoner abuse, which he claimed was done on orders from military intelligence personnel. And at times, he said, the intelligence personnel were actually present for the abuse. "I nearly beat an MI detainee to death with MI there," he said before Col. James Pohl, the judge, interrupted his testimony. Also Tuesday, a New York psychologist said England came from an emotionally abusive family, was prone to depression and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder even before she was sent to Iraq. Xavier Amador said England also had a deviant sexual relationship with Graner that affected her ability to know her actions were wrong. "It changes your view of what's OK and what's not OK," he said. "You don't recognize indecent acts as readily as you would have." During her trial England was depicted as having an overly compliant personality and wanting to please Graner, who is the father of her 11-month-old son. Written by CBC News Online staff
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Jean becomes Governor-General today Web Posted | Last Updated Tue, 27 Sep 2005  07:17:41  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 27th, 2005
Michaëlle Jean becomes Canada's Governor-General today, after weathering controversy about her views on Quebec politics and renouncing her French citizenship. Jean replaces Adrienne Clarkson who ended her six-year term - it was extended by a year - Monday amid artistic and cultural celebrations and expressions of gratitude from the Prime Minister and many other Canadians.
More performances and pageantry will herald Jean's installation today, and her inaugural speech will be a highlight of the event. Jean's appointment as Governor-General was controversial, with accusations that both she and her husband, film-maker Jean-Daniel Lafond, had associated with and sympathized with Quebec separatists. She also was criticized for holding French citizenship. Jean became a French citizen when she married Lafond, who holds both Canadian and French passports, two years ago. Michaëlle Jean's first day as Governor-General begins with her arrival on Parliament Hill by landau from Rideau Hall, her new residence. It will end with a dinner for 900 at the Civic Centre in Ottawa.	Michaëlle Jean, August 4th, 1005.
Both Adrienne Clarkson and Michaëlle Jean are former CBC journalists, and both have been controversial. Clarkson stirred criticism in her vice-regal role, mostly for her extensive and expensive travel and for authorizing costly renovations at Rideau Hall. Jean's first weeks as vice-regal nominee were rocky after it was revealed that she had appeared in a documentary film directed by her husband in which she appeared to enthusiastically join a toast to Quebec sovereignty. She subsequently issued a public statement saying both she and her husband are "fully committed" to Canada and have never belonged to a political party or the separatist movement. Written by CBC News Online staff
Anti-war protests demand withdrawal from Iraq Web Posted | Last Updated Sun, 25 Sep 2005  11:09:33  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 26th, 2005
Opponents of the war in Iraq rallied in cities around the world Saturday to demand the withdrawal of U.S. and British troops.
The largest rally took place in Washington, D.C., where approximately 100,000 protesters demonstrated their opposition to U.S. President George W. Bush and the American military presence in Iraq. Folk singer Joan Baez performed a concert at the foot of the Washington Monument. She said Iraq is already a mess and the troops should come home immediately. "There is chaos. There's bloodshed. There's carnage."	Anti-War protesters march toward the White House on Pennsylvania Ave. Sept. 24 in Washington, D.C.
A crowd in London, estimated by police at 10,000, marched in support of pulling British troops out of Iraq. In Toronto, several hundred people waved anti-war signs in front of the U.S. Consulate. Other demonstrations were held in Ottawa. Protesters sang and marched and remembered the dead in Washington and other cities in the U.S. Paul Rutherford, 60, of Vandalia, Mich., said he is a Republican who supported Bush in the last election and still does - except for the war in Iraq. "President Bush needs to admit he made a mistake in the war and bring the troops home, and let's move on," Rutherford said. President George W. Bush was out of town - monitoring hurricane recovery efforts from Colorado and Texas. A counter-protest defending the war in Iraq was scheduled for Sunday in Washington, D.C. Organizers said their demonstration would likely draw a far smaller turnout than Saturday's. "We are preparing for as many as 20,000 people, just to be on the safe side," said Kristinn Taylor, a leader of FreeRepublic.com, one of the sponsors. "People have been fired up over the past month, especially military family members, and they want to be heard." Organizers said the goal of pro-military rally is to honour the troops fighting "the war on terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world." Written by CBC News Online staff
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Sleek, solar-powered cars start race across Australia Web Posted | Last Updated Sun, 25 Sep 2005  13:25:18  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 25th, 2005
Twenty-two bug-shaped solar cars built by corporations and universities from around the world began racing Sunday across the Australian outback. They are competing in the eighth World Solar Challenge. The challenge is to build a car capable of travelling the 3,021 kilometres from tropical Darwin to balmy Adelaide, using only energy derived from the sun. The Dutch team's car "Nuna 3" set the race-record time of 30 hours 54 minutes in 2003. Other countries in this year's race include Canada, the United States, Japan and France. A team from University of Tehran, Iran is also in the running. Its car, the "Persian Gazelle," is the first solar vehicle built in the Middle East. The race is scheduled to end October 2nd, 2005. Written by CBC News Online staff	'Sunstang,' entry from the University of Western Ontario in the World Solar Challenge 2005. The race which pits solar-powered vehicles from around the world in a 3,000 km competition across Australia started Sunday. Solar car, 'Soleon,' entry from the University of Calgary in the World Solar Challenge 2005.
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Rita hits Gulf Coast Web Posted | Last Updated Sat, 24 Sep 2005  09:07:07  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 24th, 2005
Hurricane Rita hit the Gulf Coast early Saturday, lashing Texas and Louisiana with driving rain but sparing the flood-prone cities of Houston and Galveston, Texas, a direct hit. "It looks like the Houston and Galveston area has really lucked out," said Max Mayfield, director of the hurricane centre. The storm flooded low-lying regions, knocked power out to more than 675,000 people and sparked fires across the region. Rita made landfall at 3:30 a.m. ET as a Category 3 storm on the Texas-Louisiana line, bringing a six-metre storm surge and up to 63.5 centimetres of rain, the National Hurricane Center said. Within four hours it had weakened to a Category 2 storm, as it moved further inland.
Asked how Rita compared with the earlier devastating hit of Hurricane Katrina, Mayfield said: "It's not as powerful, not as large and it did not hit as populated an area." Fires in Houston KHOU-TV in Houston reported that there were multiple fires in and around the city. In a hotel in Beaumont, near where Rita struck, windows were blown out and shards of glass and pieces of trees were strewn throughout the flooding lobby, the station reported.	A firefighter walks past a fire at a strip mall fire Saturday, Sept. 24, in Pasadena, Texas.
More than 450,000 CenterPoint Energy customers in Texas were without power in the Galveston and Houston areas. Hundreds of residents also reported roofs being ripped off and downed trees. Rita's heaviest rains Rita's heaviest rains - up to 7.5 to 10 centimetres an hour - fell in Lake Charles, La. The town had 20 centimetres of rain more than two hours before the storm's landfall. Near the coastal town of Cameron, the weather service recorded a wind gust of 180 km/h as the storm's centre approached. Nearly all 70,000 residents evacuated Lake Charles, home to the nation's 12th-largest seaport and refineries run by ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Citgo and Shell. "We see these storms a little differently after Katrina," said city administrator Paul Rainwater. "We all realize that no matter how safe you feel . . . you have to take it seriously, you have to plan."
Fires in historic district In Galveston, about 160 kilometres away from the storm's eye, three buildings caught fire in the historic Strand district of nightclubs, shops and restaurants. Wind-whipped flames leapt across three buildings. It was unclear what caused the blazes, but a fallen electrical pole was lying on one of the buildings. "It was like a war zone, shooting fire across the street," Fire Chief Michael Varela said Saturday.	This image provided by NOAA was collected at 7:25 a.m. EDT Saturday Sept. 25 showing hurricane Rita after it came ashore.
Shelters full About 3,700 people were housed in 23 packed county shelters in Tyler, about 160 kilometres southeast of Dallas. Officials said the shelters were full and people arriving Saturday were being directed elsewhere. President George W. Bush, mindful of criticism the federal government was slow to respond to Katrina, planned to visit his home state of Texas on Saturday. Louisiana evacuates High winds knocked over old live oaks and lashed the low-lying landscape with driving winds in southwestern Louisiana, which was expected to get the brunt of a six-meter storm surge, because it is on the vulnerable east side of Rita. More than 90 per cent of residents in the state's southwestern parishes - about 150,000 people - had evacuated. For those who had not, Gov. Kathleen Blanco urged, "Get to the highest ground or the highest building in your area." Written by CBC News Online staff
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Gas price rumours cause panic across Canada Web Posted | Last Updated Thu, 22 Sep 2005  15:38:42  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 23rd, 2005
Rumours of gas price increases are causing lineups at pumps across Canada before Hurricane Rita even lands in the Gulf of Mexico.
"There are a lot of folks out there who are running to get to a gas station and I would suggest that they shouldn't panic," said Steve Ecclestone, general manager of Ultramar, adding that his Montreal-based company was closely monitoring the market and wasn't planning immediate increases. "It's crazy. It's just a lot of fear, panic and rumours going on." In Halifax, a website monitoring gas prices reported prices were holding at $1.11 per litre. But gossip of stations in other areas charging $2 per litre had panicky people running pumps dry. "The rumours were insane -- everything from $2.25 a litre in Ontario to $1.90 in Halifax," said Jennifer Murphy, a supervisor at an Irving gas station outside Halifax. The cost to fill up varies wildly across the country. Prices have reached $2.20 in Toronto Ont., $1.92 in Laval, Que., $1.79 in Glace Bay, N.S. and $1.29 in the Gulf Islands, B.C. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty says reports of gasoline selling for over two dollars a litre in parts of Ontario create a false impression that there is a fuel shortage. McGuinty told reporters that he wants the federal Competition Bureau to find out why gas prices vary by as much as a dollar a litre.	Price for regular gas is at 167.4 cents a litre in Quebec City, Sept. 22, 2005.
Even Graham Conrad, executive director of the Retail Gasoline Dealers Association of Nova Scotia, rushed to fill up after hearing a report that prices in Ontario were topping $2 and were expected to go up to $1.80 in Halifax. "I had it in the back of my mind, as probably every other motorist in metro had, that we'd better fill up while we have the chance," Conrad said. Nova Scotia Premier John Hamm said the province is powerless to influence the price of gas, but added he was monitoring the situation. "We can do what we can do to make sure people aren't being gouged; that the price is fair and is being determined by demand and not gouging," he said. Bill Simpkins, Ottawa-based spokesman for the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute, said the panic buying would only cause more problems in terms of distribution and pricing. "Certainly, fear does drive up prices and we're concerned about that." Most of the concern has to do with the 18 oil refineries in and near the Gulf of Mexico, which account for nearly one quarter of the refining capacity in the United States. Written by CBC News Online staff
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Man charged with murder of Alicia Ross Web Posted | Last Updated Wed, 21 Sep 2005  19:00:09  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 22nd, 2005 There were major developments Wednesday in the disappearance of a surburban Toronto woman. A man who lived next door to Alicia Ross appeared in court to face a murder charge less than a day after he turned himself in to police. Information supplied to police led to the discovery of human remains which police believe to belong to Ross. Forensic tests will be conducted to confirm their identity. Ontario's chief coroner said remains were found near the town of Manilla, about 50 kilometres northeast of Markham, and also near the town of Coboconk, 40 kilometres farther north.	Alicia Ross in an undated police handout photo.
25-year-old Alicia Ross had been missing from her home in Markham since Aug. 17. She was last seen by her boyfriend, Sean Hine, early that morning in her backyard. Ross's case stirred a great deal of local interest and passion. Nearly 1,000 volunteers came out to comb through a 31-square-kilometre area surrounding Ross's home. About a week after her disappearance, York Regional Police said in the absence of any evidence near her home, they were focusing their investigation on foul play, specifically abduction. In late August, the Ontario Provincial Police behavioural science unit said they believed Ross was taken by someone she knew and felt comfortable with. Ross's neighbour, Daniel Sylvester, 31, has been charged with second-degree murder. Sylvester, who had nothing to say in court Wednesday, is "feeling great remorse," said his lawyer, David Hobson. Hobson said police had "no evidence to support a conviction" at the time of his client's surrender. Hobson said: "His conscience got the better of him. He's feeling that the family next door needed closure. He feels that another person might have been unjustly prosecuted." Police cars barricaded the street near the Ross home Wednesday, and yellow police tape surrounded the house next door as investigators went in and out. Ross's disappearance was a shock to the quiet upper middle-class neighbourhood where she lived. One neighbour had said she didn't even recall a break-in during the 20 years she had lived in the area. Teague's father asks daughter's killer to surrender The developments in the Ross disappearance came only days after the body of another slain Ontario woman was found on the weekend. The body of Jennifer Teague, 18, of Ottawa, was found near a hiking trail on Sunday, 10 days after she went missing while walking home from her late-night shift at a fast-food restaurant. On Wednesday, Jennifer's father Ed Teague called on his daughter's killer to surrender to police. "You can end this now by stepping forward and giving us your side of what happened." Teague said: "You have taken a life, it was my daughter's life." Written by CBC News Online staff
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Rita now Category 4 storm, heading for Gulf Coast Web Posted | Last Updated Wed, 21 Sep 2005  08:03:00  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 21st, 2005 After battering Cuba's coastline and the Florida Keys, Hurricane Rita is now heading towards the Gulf of Mexico, where forecasters fear it will further intensify. As Rita packed winds of 217 kilometres an hour, federal officials told Gulf Coast residents to begin bracing for a blockbuster storm. "Up and down the coastline, people are now preparing for what is anticipated to be another significant storm," President Bush said.	Hurricane Rita grew into a Category 4 storm early Wednesday, with winds had reaching 217 kilometres an hour. (image: Environment Canada)
Forecasters are predicting the Category 4 storm could reach the Gulf Coast early Wednesday afternoon, before hitting Texas later this week. Katrina was a Category 4 storm when it unleashed its fury on the Gulf Coast. Tens of thousands of people are being forced to evacuate coastal towns and New Orleans is on high alert as the storm could cause flooding once again, even if it just clips the city. "As Rita moves into the Gulf of Mexico, we are looking to ... make sure that people can get back into their homes as quickly as possible in the Keys," Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said at a news conference on Tuesday, referring to the thousands of people that have been evacuated from the Keys. Acting FEMA director David Paulison told reporters that the agency has aircraft and buses available to evacuate residents of areas the hurricane might hit. Rescue teams and truckloads of ice, water and prepared meals were being sent to Texas and Florida. "I strongly urge Gulf coast residents to pay attention" to the storm, he said. Speaking from New Orleans, reporter Thomas Roberts told CTV's Canada AM that residents were "very anxious." "People are feeling an emotional pull and tug about the situation," Roberts said. "Everybody is keeping a very close eye on Hurricane Rita but a lot of people very curious and very anxious to get back into the city, to get home and survey the damage." On Monday, Rita started as a tropical storm with top sustained winds of about 112 km/h. As it travelled through the Florida Straits between the Keys and Cuba, it gathered energy from the warm sea and by early afternoon it had top winds of about 160 km/h, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. By Tuesday afternoon, authorities said it appeared the Keys had been spared from Rita's full wrath.
"I think we did, so far, dodge a bullet," said Key West Mayor Jimmy Weekley. While the worst appears to be over for the Keys, there are concerns that the storm could follow the path of Hurricane Katrina and strike Louisiana. That threat prompted New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin to suspend a plan to start bringing residents back into the city. "The levee systems are very wet, they're somewhat weakened, and any type of storm surge would cause flooding both in our parish and in other parishes. So we're not taking any chances," Nagin said Tuesday. Meanwhile, about 1,100 evacuees still housed in Houston's Reliant Arena and George R. Brown shelters are expected to be transferred to Ft. Chaffee, Arkansas by Tuesday night. "Officials re-stated that Houston remains a pass-through for anyone seeking storm shelter, and is not recommended as a shelter area," The Katrina Relief Unified Command said in a statement. "They also stressed that Reliant Arena is predicted to withstand no stronger than a Category 3 storm, and the Reliant Astrodome's glass roof makes it unsuitable as a shelter." Texas officials were also planning to move Louisiana evacuees out of shelters in Corpus Christi and Beaumont. In all, some 4,000 were headed for Arkansas and 3,000 to Tennessee. Worries about Rita were in part blamed for a rise in crude-oil futures to $67 US a barrel on Monday. Crude oil prices fell more than $1 a barrel on Tuesday, despite worries about the storm. The hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. This is the fourth-busiest hurricane season since 1851, when record-keeping started. Rita is the 17th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. The record is 21 tropical storms in 1933. Written by CTV.ca News staff
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PQ leadership candidate admits cocaine use Web Posted | Last Updated Tue, 20 Sep 2005  06:25:22  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 20th, 2005
PQ leadership favourite André Boisclair has admitted that he used cocaine during the years he served as a cabinet minister in the Quebec government. The acknowledgment comes just weeks before Parti Québécois members choose a new leader in a vote in November. Boisclair admitted he used cocaine in the years during which he was a PQ cabinet minister, between 1996 and 2003. But he didn't want to discuss when he consumed coke, whom he did it with, and where he got it from. "What I want to tell you is I made mistakes, things I regret. Yes, I consumed. I can't be clearer than that," Boisclair said Monday. He called his past drug use a regrettable mistake he made in his youth. He said he doesn't use coke now, and he was never impaired on the job. "I've never had problems of consumption," Boisclair said in Lévis, Que. "I have never been in a situation where I was under the influence of anything when I carried out my responsibilities as a member of the legislature or as a cabinet minister." Michel David, a political columnist with Montreal's La Presse, said the admission of cocaine use while in office places Boisclair in trouble. "Maybe he was young, but he was a young cabinet minister, and that's the whole point," David said. "How much, from now on, is André Boisclair a political risk, both for the PQ and for the sovereigntist movement?" Boisclair is one of nine candidates vying to replace Bernard Landry as PQ leader in November. Written by CBC News Online staff
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North Korea pledges to abandon nuclear arms development Web Posted | Last Updated Mon, 19 Sep 2005  07:16:27  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 19th, 2005 North Korea promised Monday to end nuclear weapons development and rejoin international arms treaties. The breakthrough came during six-party talks between China, Japan, Russia, the United States and the two Koreas that started in 2003. The North "committed to abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs and returning at an early date" to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards, according to a statement.	North Korea's chief negotiator Kim Gye Gwan, centre, applauds at the close of the latest round of six-nation talks.
Tang Jiaxuan, a Chinese former foreign minister and now state councillor, congratulated the delegates, praising the agreement for having "succinct wording and profound content." But critics pointed to the lack of detail in the agreement concerning procedures and timelines for disarmament. The talks had stalled last week when the North claimed it would "never give up our nuclear" program as long as the U.S. had nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula. In 1994, treaties were signed promising the construction of two light-water nuclear reactors as long as North Korea did not pursue nuclear weapons development. These reactors generate electricity using technology generally agreed to be harder to transform into weapons-grade material. But the deal was halted in 2002 with accusations that the North was acquiring weapons-grade plutonium. In February of this year, the North claimed it had created a nuclear weapon, and experts agree it currently has enough radioactive material for more. In the new agreement, both North Korea and the U.S. confirmed that they had no nuclear arms in the region, and that the U.S. "has no intention to attack or invade (North Korea) with nuclear or conventional weapons." The North maintained that it has a "right to pursue peaceful uses of nuclear energy", and all parties agreed to discuss provisions of light-water reactors at a later date. The other countries at the talks said they were willing give energy assistance to the North, including a South Korean plan to deliver electricity across the border dividing the peninsula. Despite the deal, Chief U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill said the proof would be in implementation. "Whether this agreement helps solve this will depend in large measure on what we do in the days and weeks that follow," he told reporters. "We need to take the momentum of this agreement and work to see that it is implemented." The head of the UN nuclear watchdog said he welcomed the progress and hoped it would lead to an early return of UN inspectors to North Korea. "What we have seen today coming from Korea gives me a lot of encouragement that issues as complex as they could be can in fact be resolved if good faith on all sides exists," said International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei. Written by CBC News Online staff
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Last year for Canada's tobacco farmers? Web Posted | Last Updated Sat, 17 Sep 2005  15:15:03  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 18th, 2005 Canada's last remaining tobacco farmers are in trouble, and some say this could be their last year. Canadian tobacco farmers have found themselves in an unusual dilemma over the past several years. They grow a product that is legal, but is blamed for the premature cancer-related deaths of 45,000 Canadians every year. Every province except Alberta has passed some form of smoking ban in public places such as bars and restaurants. With more laws restricting smoking and promotion of smoking, there are fewer tobacco farmers.	Mark Bannister (L), vice-chairman, and Brian Edwards (R), president of the Tobacco Farmers in Crisis association, stand in a tobacco field about to be harvested.
While there were more than 4,500 tobacco farms in Canada in the 1960s, today there are only 680 -- grouped north of Lake Erie, near Delhi, Ont. As farmers turned away from tobacco, tobacco crops declined. In 1998, 151 million pounds were produced in Canada. This year the crop target is set for just over 85 million pounds. Tobacco farmers in 1990 earned an average income of $79,062. According to Statistics Canada that dropped to $57,876 in 2000. "This could be our last year," said Joe Stachura, a tobacco farmer of 25 years in Delhi. "We have no idea what our future holds for us." Fred Neukamm, chairman of the Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers' Marketing Board said: "What we are trying very hard to convince government of is that, as they pursue these types of aggressive (anti-smoking) policies, there has to be a balance in addressing the needs of the farmers that those types of policies are really displacing." In March, Ontario set aside $50 million in a transition fund for tobacco farmers looking to get out of the business and pursue alternative crops such as beans and sweet potatoes. But the farmers say much of the infrastructure designed for tobacco farming -- such as the kilns which cure the tobacco -- can't be used for any other crops. Ontario Agriculture Minister Leona Dombrowsky said some farmers are adapting to cultivating different crops, such as sweet potatoes. Dombrowsky said there will be two benefits: "There will be the production of sweet potatoes for consumption, and... lower-grade potatoes will be used for the production of ethanol." The province is pushing gas companies to ensure all gasoline contains five per cent of ethanol by 2007 to reduce greenhouse gases and to support agriculture. Bankruptcy and depression are taking their toll on the growers, many of whom have left the family business after decades of tilling. Mark Bannister, a tobacco farmer in Vanessa, Ont., since 1980, said: "People are scared." Bannister, vice-chairman of the Tobacco Farmers in Crisis association, said trying to get tobacco farmers to grow other crops will only saturate other markets. "If, say, 400 acres of strawberries were planted here, we would ruin the strawberry industry for Canadians," he said. "We can't be planting 10,000 more acres of tomatoes or peppers or sweet corns. Nobody makes money then." Gazing out at row upon row of tobacco crops, Bannister said: "The tobacco industry is the Titanic." Written by CTV.ca News Staff
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Ophelia picks up speed on path to Atlantic coast Web Posted | Last Updated Sat, 17 Sep 2005  08:00:00  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 17th, 2005 The Canadian Hurricane Centre has issued severe weather warnings for much of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island Saturday as Tropical Storm Ophelia accelerates on its path toward Canada's Atlantic coast. "Current indications are that Ophelia will move over Canadian waters this afternoon," the centre said in a public advisory Saturday morning.	Satellite image of Ophelia as it moves toward Canada's east coast on Saturday morning.
Forecasters at the centre say the storm is expected to move across the Nova Scotia this evening "to lie over Cape Breton Sunday morning. Thereafter it will track across central Newfoundland." Coastal regions have been warned to brace for wind gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour, and as much as 100 millimetres of rain. "A storm surge of 50 or 60 centimetres is possible along the southwest coastline near the time of high tides Saturday evening. A more westerly track could bring a potential for localized flooding and coastal damage particularly near Cape Sable Island," the Canadian Hurricane Centre says. "The current track brings Ophelia near Halifax at the time of low tide so storm surges should not pose a problem there." However, meteorologists warn that further east along the Gulf Coast of Cape Breton, and particularly in the St. Georges Bay area and northern shores of Prince Edward Island, the storm may increase the risk of storm surge with the high tide Sunday morning. Meanwhile, some Maritimers are battening down the hatches, while others seem skeptical that the storm will pack much of a punch. Necessities like extra blankets, water, and generators are being delivered to the various communities located along the south shore of Nova Scotia. "Even the lessons we've learned from Katrina recently have shown we have to be ready. It's better to be ready and not have anything than to be sitting back and be affected," Joanne Bawlor of the Red Cross told ATV News. Although Ophelia has been downgraded to tropical storm status, the Red Cross is still urging people to remain on high alert. Ophelia, an erratic storm that has looped and meandered north since forming off the Florida coast last week, most recently hit North Carolina. It departed the state on Friday, downgraded to a tropical storm but picking up speed for a possible run-in with the southeastern New England coast. A tropical storm watch is in effect for Rhode Island's coast and southeastern Massachusetts, including Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. Ophelia is the 15th named storm and seventh named hurricane of this year's busy Atlantic season, which ends November 30th. Written by CTV.ca News Staff
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Pakistan President's cry rape and go to Canada comments condemned Web Posted | Last Updated Fri, 16 Sep 2005  09:31:48  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 16th, 2005
The Pakistan president's comments that many in his country felt crying rape was an easy way to make money and move to Canada have been condemned by Prime Minister Paul Martin, Amnesty International and the woman whose case brought the issue to the world's attention.
This week, in an interview with the Washington Post newspaper, President Pervez Musharraf spoke about the case of Mukhtar Mai, a 33-year-old illiterate woman who went public about having been gang-raped on the orders of a village council in 2002. Her brother, then 12, was judged to have befriended a woman of a powerful clan. Mai won public sympathy and government support after she demanded that the men be charged and convicted. But earlier this year Musharraf angered the Bush administration when he blocked Mai from traveling to the United States to publicize the case. Musharraf told the Post that Mai was free to travel now -- though she has never left Pakistan -- and he had no regrets about how he handled the incident. He said Mai had come under the sway of organizations determined to harm Pakistan's image and he did not think Pakistan "should be singled out when the curse is everywhere in the world." Musharraf then was quoted in the Post as follows: "You must understand the environment in Pakistan. This has become a moneymaking concern. A lot of people say if you want to go abroad and get a visa for Canada or citizenship and be a millionaire, get yourself raped." On Thursday, Musharraf was reported to have told a New York news conference that he had been expressing a commonly held opinion rather than his own. Mukhtar Mai told Reuters she was pained by Musharraf's comments: "Nobody does it (gets raped) intentionally. A large number of women are molested and insulted in the country. How many of them have made money? Such thinking about women is not good."	Paul Martin shakes hands with Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf prior to their bilateral meeting at the United Nations in New York Thursday, September 15th, 2005. President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan addresses the United Nations General Assembly, September 14th, 2005.
Prime Minister Paul Martin said Thursday he raised the matter with the Pakistani leader during a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. "I stated unequivocally that comments such as that are not acceptable and that violence against women is also a blight that besmirches all humanity." London-based rights group Amnesty International said Musharraf should apologize. "This callous and insulting statement requires a public apology from President Musharraf to the women of Pakistan and especially to victims of rape, sexual assault and other forms of violence that are rampant with impunity in Pakistan. His statement is an offence to women all over the world." Pakistan's leading English-language daily newspaper - Dawn - went after Musharraf in an editorial headlined "Wrong thing to say". "If this attitude, of blaming rape and other crimes against women on women themselves and ridiculing NGOs (non-government organisations) that take up such issues, begins to travel upward from ignorant mullahs and male chauvinists to permeate the higher echelons of the administration, then God help us," it said. Musharraf is due to speak to an audience of Pakistani-American women in New York on Saturday. Written by CBC News Online staff
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Melissa O'Neil, 17, becomes first female 'Idol' Web Posted | Last Updated Thu, 15 Sep 2005  8:04:00  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 15th, 2005 The songs have been sung and the votes have been counted and 17-year-old powerhouse Melissa O'Neil is the nation's newest Canadian Idol. The high school student from Calgary, Alta. won the coveted title, beating out runner-up Rex Goudie of Burlington, N.L., and nearly 9,000 others who auditioned for the show beginning in February.	Melissa O'Neil is the newest Canadian Idol.
It marked the second consecutive year that an Albertan emerged triumphant in the Canada-wide competition. The first-ever female winner of Canadian Idol was speechless after Ben Mulroney announced her name. But when the initial shock subsided, the jubilant O'Neil thanked her fans, especially those in her hometown. "Oh my god. Thank you so much, you guys staying up late," said the tearful yet fired-up teen. "Calgary, yes. Calgary, Canada, thank you so much."
"I know. Hats off to Canada," O'Neil screamed. As revealed on Wednesday's two-hour finale, O'Neil secured the highest number of votes out of the record-high 3.65 million cast following Tuesday's performances. O'Neil wasn't a shoe in to win the idol crown. On more than one occasion during the competition she found herself in danger of being eliminated including once when she forgot the words to a song.	Melissa and Rex await the final Canadian Idol results.
But each time the young singer recovered to win high praise from the judges for showing maturity and poise beyond her years. During Tuesday's sing-off Idol judge Zack Werner predicted she would surpass previous Idol winners Ryan Malcolm and Kalan Porter. "In year one we had a waiter boy. In year two we had a little prince,'' he said. "Thursday morning it's going to say, `The king is dead, long live the queen.'" Along with her crown, O'Neil was rewarded with a recording contract with Sony BMG which she signed immediately after the show. With her debut single, "Alive" hitting the airwaves at 1:00 a.m. O'Neil will have a lot on her plate next year, not to mention trying to finish high school. "I'm not taking a year off, I'm going to just let everyone know that right now. I'm either going to get a tutor or I'll get correspondence,'' she said. However, she conceded that she might have to put her rugby career on hold: "I don't think they'd let me play in case I get hurt." Before the nail-biting results were revealed Wednesday night, viewers were treated to a slew of performances, including a song from special guests the Barenaked Ladies and various musical acts from members of the Canadian Idol family. Reunited once again, the Top 10 kicked off the singing extravaganza with a medley of British Invasion hits. Backed by a 30-member choir and Idol's house band, the finalists sang hits from the Rolling Stones, John Lennon and Queen. The Top 8 also sampled from their 'High Notes' compilation CD and was later joined by O'Neil and Goudie for a tearful rendition of Green Day's "Time of Your Life." The night also saw the return of the curly-haired "Little Prince," Kalan Porter. Relishing the last few moments of his Idol reign, Porter performed "In Spite of it All" and accompanied the Top 2, with fiddle in hand, in a hoedown to the country tune, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." "Just have fun with it. It's such a crazy experience. I've been across the country and back. Just enjoy it," Porter advised his future successors. Rare and poignant performances also marked the momentous occasion. Veteran rocker and Idol judge Sass Jordan dedicated her Stevie Wonder tune, "All in Love is Fair", to the thousands of hopefuls who auditioned for the show. And in an Idol first, vocal coach Debra Byrd stepped on to the stage and performed Dionne Warwick's "I'll Never Love This Way Again," which left hardly a dry eye in the theatre. Written by CTV.ca News staff
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Group says murder convict is innocent, calls for release Web Posted | Last Updated Tue, 13 Sep 2005  16:53:57  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 14th, 2005
The Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted said Tuesday that Canada has another wrongful conviction case - a man was convicted of raping and killing a four year old Ontario girl in June 1993, but it now seems that the girl died of natural causes.
The group wants Bill Mullins-Johnson to be let out of prison on bail while Ottawa decides how to deal with what they said is the latest name on a long list of miscarriages of justice. James Lockyer, director of the association, said: "Once again we have a man who's spent a lot of time in jail -- 12 and-a-half years in his case -- not just for a crime he didn't commit, but for a crime that never happened." Mullins-Johnson of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., was convicted of first-degree murder in 1994 for sodomizing and strangling his four-year-old niece Valin Johnson in June 1993.	Lawyer James Lockyer in December 2004.
The conviction was based on what his backers call a "rush to judgment" by pathologists, who testified Valin had been chronically sexually abused and strangled or smothered. Their findings were backed up by Dr. Charles Smith, a Toronto pathologist whose conclusions in dozens of child deaths are currently under review. Smith -- who until recently was with Toronto Sick Kids hospital -- told Mullins-Johnson's 1994 trial there was clear evidence Valin was killed while being anally raped, something no one who did the actual autopsy had detected. There was no semen or other DNA evidence to support that finding. Now, Dr. Michael Pollanen, a top pathologist with Ontario's coroner's office, and a British expert, have both concluded Valin was not abused, sodomized nor strangled, they believe she died of natural causes. Lockyer wants federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler to quash the conviction and order a new trial or, at the very least, refer it back to the Ontario Court of Appeal. On Tuesday in Toronto, Lockyer said Canada needs an independent tribunal to review claims of wrongful convictions such as one set up in the U.K. eight years ago. It has already found more than 50 murder convictions were unjustified. Lockyer said: "All we have now is a sort of a piecemeal examination of a case here and case there primarily brought forward by our organization. It's just not good enough." Written by CBC News Online staff
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Mulroney devastated by Peter C. Newman book Web Posted | Last Updated Mon, 12 Sep 2005  23:17:28  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 13th, 2005
A spokesman for Brian Mulroney said Monday the ailing former prime minister feels "devastated" and "betrayed" by the release of a tell-all book by Peter C. Newman. Luc Lavoie said Monday that Mulroney was stunned to turn on the television and learn that what he considered his private reflections would be on store shelves this week. Lavoie said that while Mulroney was furious at his estranged friend, he also blamed himself. According to Lavoie, Mulroney said "I was reckless in talking with Peter.C.Newman. This was my mistake and I'm going to have to live with it."
Mulroney is undergoing physiotherapy and still recovering from surgery following a severe bout of pancreatitis months ago. Lavoie said Mulroney is not challenging the accuracy of the book, The Secret Mulroney Tapes, and has no plans for legal action. The material in the book is based on 330 conversations with Mulroney that took place over 20 years that include crude references about his successor Kim Campbell, startling admissions about the Meech Lake Accord and vicious outbursts at the media and anyone else he felt deprived him of his legacy as the greatest prime minister since John A. Macdonald. The book quotes Mulroney saying that Pierre Trudeau's contribution "was not to build Canada but to destroy it."	Peter C. Newman's book.
Of Lucien Bouchard, he says, "I have never known a more vulgar expression of betrayal and deceit." "By the time history is done looking at this, and you look at my achievements as opposed to others, certainly no one will be in Sir John A.'s league -- but my nose will be a little ahead of most in terms of achievements," Newman quotes Mulroney as saying. Lavoie said Mulroney and Newman signed a deal when Mulroney became Tory leader in 1983. Under that arrangement, Newman would have unlimited access to Mulroney. Lavoie said in all his conversations with Newman, Mulroney just thought he was gabbing with an old friend. "Brian Mulroney is a very colourful, entertaining man in a conversation that says things that are said because they're entertaining," he said. Mulroney served as prime minister from Sept. 1984 to June 1993. After he left office, his Progressive Conservative party was trounced by Jean Chrétien's Liberals. Written by CBC News Online staff
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Ontario Premier rejects use of Shariah law Web Posted | Last Updated Sun, 11 Sep 2005  17:19:21  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 12th, 2005
Premier Dalton McGuinty said today Ontario will reject the use of Shariah law and will move to prohibit all religious-based tribunals to settle family disputes such as divorce.
His announcement comes after hundreds of demonstrators around the world this week protested a proposal to let Ontario residents use Islamic law for settling family disputes. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty was reacting to a recommendation, by former NDP attorney general Marion Boyd, to allow Muslims to establish Shariah-based tribunals similar to Jewish and Catholic arbitration bodies. "We will not tolerate the interference of religion in our justice system," said Homa Arjomand, who organized a protest in Toronto that drew hundreds of people Thursday.	A woman argues with Joanne Siska during a protest against Sharia law in Toronto, September 8th, 2005.
The protests were generally peaceful, but on the outskirts of the Toronto demonstration, pro-Shariah activist Mubin Shaikh and his wife, Joanne Sijka, verbally sparred with protesters. Shaikh said the misuse of Shariah doesn't mean it should be excluded from Canadian civil law. "Abuse of the process is not a proof against a process, just as people wrongfully imprisoned is not a proof against Canadian law," Shaikh said. In Montreal around 100 people gathered Thursday to protest the tribunals. In Ottawa more than 100 others, mostly women, protested in the rain in front of the parliament building. And in the western German city of Dusseldorf, about 25 people protested at the Canadian consulate. "If the Shariah is used in Canada, I also feel threatened here," said protester Nasrin Ramzanali, who said there should be a clear separation of church and state. Other protests were planned this week in Waterloo and Victoria, and in Europe in Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, Stockholm, Goteborg, London and Paris. Ontario has allowed Catholic and Jewish faith-based tribunals to settle family law matters on a voluntary basis since 1991, but the practice got little attention until Muslim leaders demanded the same rights. According to the latest census in 2001, some 600,000 Muslims live in Canada, just over 100,000 of them in Quebec. Written by CBC News Online staff
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Final costs of Katrina could be $300 billion Web Posted | Last Updated Sat, 10 Sep 2005  14:32:44  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 11th, 2005
Although the estimates are preliminary and highly imprecise, experts are now saying that the costs of the cleanup and recovery in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina are certain to climb to $200 billion in the coming weeks. In fact, the final accounting could hit more than $300 billion. That's the amount the U.S. spent in four years to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The government is spending about two billion dollars a day on the recovery of the U.S. Gulf Coast and it's added directly onto the deficit. There are calls now from some lawmakers and politicians to have other federal programs cut in order to keep the Gulf Coast a priority. As well, the administration is being urged to forget about planned tax cuts in order to stem the growing deficit. The American government has never dealt with a disaster of this magnitude. More than 230,000 square kilometres of the Gulf Coast are affected, hundreds of thousands of people are displaced and a whole metropolitan area is under water.	Rescue workers from the South Carolina Search and Rescue Task Force search homes in the ninth ward Sept. 10, 2005 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Louisiana officials say it could cost $100 billion alone to rebuild New Orleans. Among the questions to be answered are what will be rebuilt and by whom. There's also the issue of insurance and who will cut the cheques. Written by CBC News Online staff
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FEMA director pulled from hurricane relief Web Posted | Last Updated Sat, 10 Sep 2005  06:48:00  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 10th, 2005 Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown was pulled off relief operations in the area on Friday. Critics have been calling for Brown's resignation over FEMA's slow response to the disaster. Questions have also surfaced about Brown's qualifications for the job as head of the nation's top disaster-response agency, as well as discrepancies on his resume pointed out in a news report.	FEMA director Michael Brown is being removed from his role managing relief efforts.
"I have directed Mike Brown to return to administering FEMA nationally," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told a news conference in Baton Rouge on Friday, where he was accompanied by Brown. Brown is being sent back to Washington from Baton Rouge, La., where he was the primary official overseeing the federal government's response to the relief effort. Now, he will be replaced by Vice Admiral Thad W. Allen, chief of staff of the U.S. Coast Guard, who was overseeing New Orleans relief and rescue efforts, according to The Associated Press. At the press conference Friday, Brown did not respond to questions about his departure from Louisiana. Instead, Chertoff stepped in to address the issue, pointing out that Katrina was not FEMA's only responsibility. "FEMA has the responsibility not only to participate in this recovery effort, it's got a lot of other responsibilities. We've got tropical storms and hurricanes brewing in the ocean," Chertoff said. "And while it's very important to focus an enormous amount of attention and effort to what is going on here, we cannot afford to let our guard down with respect to other things that might happen." When a reporter directed questions to Brown himself, asking if this was the first step in Brown's resignation, or whether he wanted to respond to reports that he embellished his resume, Chertoff intervened. "I am going to answer the questions -- I have explained what we are doing. I thought I was about as clear as I possibly could be in English," Chertoff said. Although U.S. President George Bush had congratulated Brown for "doing a heck of a job," the FEMA chief is being blamed for what is widely considered the flagging national response to the disaster.
Asked if he was being made a scapegoat for a relief effort that has drawn criticism, Brown told AP: "By the press, yes. By the president, No." Increasing criticism In recent days, several Democratic members of Congress have called for Brown to be fired immediately. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, who urged the president on Sept. 6 to fire Brown, said: "At last President Bush has recognized what I have been saying for more than a week -- the federal response to this disaster must be managed by a capable leader." Reports, meanwhile, suggest Brown padded his resume to exaggerate his previous emergency management background. A 2001 press release on the White House website says that Brown worked for the city of Edmond, Okla., from 1975 to 1978 "overseeing emergency services divisions." Brown's official biography on the FEMA website says that his background in state and local government also includes serving as Edmond's "assistant city manager with emergency services oversight" and as a city councilman. But Randel Shadid, former mayor of Edmond, told AP on Friday that Brown had been an assistant to the city manager -- not assistant city manager. Claudia Deakins, head of public relations for the city of Edmond, bolstered Shadid's claim. Deakins also said that Brown was "an assistant to the city manager" from 1977 to 1980, not a manager himself, and had no authority over other employees. However, FEMA's office of public affairs deputy strategic director, Nicol Andrews, dismissed the claims, saying Brown became an "assistant city manager" after beginning as an intern.
"According to Mike Brown," Andrews told Time magazine, which first reported the discrepancy, several points raised by the magazine are "very inaccurate." FEMA spokesperson Natalie Rule added that it was "very disappointing" that Time decided to use, as their primary source, a website "that does not even claim or make promises to carry accurate or complete information." The magazine also reported that Brown's profile on the website FindLaw.com -- which lists information provided to it by lawyers or their offices -- describes him as an "outstanding political science professor" at Central State University in Edmond, Okla. The school, however, said Brown had only been a student. Separately, Newsday reported another discrepancy in Brown's stated background. The official White House announcement of Brown's nomination to head FEMA in January 2003 lists his previous experience as "the Executive Director of the Independent Electrical Contractors" -- a trade group based in Alexandria, Va. Two officials of the group told Newsday this week that Brown never was the national head of the group. But he did serve as the executive director of a regional chapter, based in Colorado. Brown, a 50-year-old lawyer, served as FEMA's general counsel in 2001 after the agency's then-director Joe Allbaugh hired him on. He spent nine years as commissioner of the International Arabian Horse Association. There are conflicting stories about his stint there, but some reports say Brown was fired after an acrimonious relationship with judges and stewards. In his own defence of his qualifications, Brown said as the agency's general counsel he oversaw responses to 164 presidential declared emergencies and disasters -- including the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster and the California wildfires later that year. Written by CTV.ca News Staff
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Police begin forced evacuations in New Orleans Web Posted | Last Updated Fri, 09 Sep 2005  07:40:00  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 9th, 2005 Police are now ready to begin carrying out the mayor's order to forcibly evacuate the thousands who refuse to leave their homes in flood-ravaged New Orleans.
Between 5,000 and 10,000 residents are believed to be still in the city, where toxic floodwaters have started to slowly recede but the task of collecting rotting corpses and clearing debris will now likely take months instead of weeks. "The ones who wanted to leave, I would say most of them are out," Detective Sgt. James Imbrogglio told The Associated Press. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Jason Rule said his crew pulled 18 people from their homes Thursday. He said some of the holdouts did not want to leave unless they could take their pets.	Officers carry out the mayor's order to forcibly remove the thousands who remain in their homes in ravaged New Orleans.
"It's getting to the point where they're delirious," Rule told AP. "A couple of them don't know who they were. They think the water will go down in a few days." Police Chief Eddie Compass said officers would use the "minimum amount of force" necessary to persuade those who remain to evacuate. Although no one was forcibly removed Thursday, some residents said they left under extreme pressure. "They were all insisting that I had to leave my home," said Shelia Dalferes, who said she had 15 minutes to pack before she and her husband were evacuated. "The implication was there with their plastic handcuffs on their belt. Who wants to go out like that?" As searches for the living continued, the grim task of retrieving corpses intensified in the searing heat. Officials raised the death toll in Louisiana to 118 Thursday, though New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has said up to 10,000 could be dead in that city alone. State officials have ordered 25,000 body bags. Authorities are now faced with the challenge of how to identify bodies that may be bloated and decayed beyond recognition. At two collection sites, federal mortuary teams were collecting information that may help identify the bodies, such as where they were found. Personal effects were also being logged. At the temporary morgue set up in nearby St. Gabriel, where 67 bodies had been collected by Thursday, the remains were being photographed and forensic workers hope to use dental X-rays, fingerprints and DNA to identify them. Dr. Bryan Patucci, coroner of St. Bernard Parish, said it may be impossible to identify all the victims until authorities compile a final list of missing people.
Decaying corpses in the floodwaters could pose problems for engineers who are desperately trying to pump the city dry. While 37 of the 174 pumps in the New Orleans area were working and 17 portable pumps were in place Thursday, officials said the mammoth undertaking could be complicated by corpses getting clogged in the pumps. "It's got a huge focus of our attention right now," said John Rickey of the Army Corps of Engineers. "Those remains are people's loved ones." Some 400,000 homes in the city were also still without power, with no immediate prospect of getting it back. And fires continued to be a problem. At least 11 blazes burned across the city Thursday, including at historically black Dillard University where three buildings were destroyed. Also Thursday, Congress rushed through an additional $51.8 billion for relief and recovery efforts and President Bush pledged to make it "easy and simple as possible" for uprooted storm victims to collect food stamps and other government benefits. In an attempt to stem the criticism of the slow federal response to the disaster, Vice President Dick Cheney also toured parts of the ravaged Gulf Coast, claiming significant progress but acknowledging immense obstacles remained to a full recovery.
Meanwhile, Democrats threatened to boycott the naming of a panel that Republican leaders are proposing to investigate the administration's readiness and response to the storm. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said it was like a baseball pitcher calling "his own balls and strikes." Democrats have urged appointment of an independent panel like the Sept. 11 commission. Confusion continued to be a problem in many areas: Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco said that radio equipment and portable generators she requested from the federal government a week ago had yet to arrive. Federal officials said they were tracking down the status of the items. In Houston, hundreds of storm victims waited for hours to pick up debit cards for cash that had been promised by relief agencies. By noon Thursday, so many people had jammed the entrance to the sign-up area that some were overcome by the heat and police were summoned. Written by CTV.ca News Staff
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Louisiana senator: Thank you Canada Web Posted | Last Updated Thu, 08 Sep 2005  07:12:44  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 8th, 2005
A Louisiana state senator has praised a Canadian search and rescue team. Senator Walter Boasso said a Vancouver-based team reached St. Bernard parish five days before the U.S. army got there. "Fabulous, fabulous guys," Boasso said. "They started rolling with us and got in boats to save people ... We've got Canadian flags flying everywhere." The suburb of 68,000 people was initially ignored by U.S. authorities who were scrambling to get aid to New Orleans. Boasso said floodwater in his parish is still 2.4 metres deep in some places. He said residents of the outlying parishes had to mount their own rescue and relief efforts when Hurricane Katrina struck last week. The U.S. government response to the disaster has been widely criticized. Some politicians and editorial writers have called for the resignation of top Bush administration officials. Boasso saved his praise for the Canadians and their quick work. "They were so glad to be here," he said. "They're still here. They are actually going door-to-door looking in the attics" for people to rescue. Written by CBC News Online staff
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20,000 Canadian cots sent for hurricane relief Web Posted | Last Updated Wed, 07 Sep 2005  05:39:42  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 7th, 2005
A convoy of 20 trucks left Montreal for Texas Tuesday, carrying 20,000 cots and blankets destined for the American Red Cross hurricane relief effort. The Red Cross expects them to be dispatched to some of its 485 emergency shelters set up to accept more than 140,000 hurricane evacuees. The president of the Quebec Red Cross watched as the last crate of cots was loaded onto the back of a truck at an east end depot yesterday. Conrad Sauvé had nothing but praise for all involved - especially for Hydro-Québec workers. They were able to put together the shipment as soon as the call from the American Red Cross came in - particularly impressive since the trucks and the people to fill them came together on a long weekend. The cots are the property of Quebec's public security department. It bought 55,000 of them after the 1998 ice storm. Sauvé said the province agreed to loan them for as long as they're needed. And Ottawa stepped in to pay the shipping costs. The federal minister for intergovernmental affairs, Lucienne Robillard, said cooperation is key. "We are answering every day with our colleagues, the provincial governments, with the volunteer sector and the private sector - to try to have a coordinated approach to the catastrophe that we're having," said Robillard. So far the Canadian Red Cross has collected $1.5 million to help in the relief effort. Sauvé said financial donations are still welcome. Written by CBC News Online staff
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155,000 moved out of Katrina damage area; Bush visits again Web Posted | Last Updated Mon, 05 Sep 2005  21:08:32  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 6th, 2005
More than 155,000 people have been evacuated from the Hurricane Katrina damage-area, 60,000 civilian and military personnel are helping out with rescue and recovery, there are at least 75,000 names on the Red Cross family registry, the mayor of New Orleans said 10,000 could be dead in his city, and President Bush visited part of the area again on Monday. The Republican President stopped first at the Bethany World Prayer Center, a huge hall in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was there at the same time as Democratic Louisiana Governor, Kathleen Blanco, but the two did not talk to each other.
At the second stop -- a visit to an emergency operations centre -- Bush kissed Blanco on the cheek, but the two said little publicly during the appearance. "I know I don't need to make any other introduction other than 'Mr. President,' " Blanco said, turning the microphone over to Bush after thanking emergency workers for their hard work. Bush echoed Blanco's praise for rescue workers. "I hope that makes you feel good to know you have saved lives," Bush said, promising that state, local and federal officials he would fix anything that isn't going right. "This is just the beginning of a huge effort," he said. Behind the scenes, state and federal officials -- all facing public criticism for a slow response to the crisis -- have each suggested the other is to blame. Blanco has refused to sign over National Guard control to the federal government and has turned to a Clinton administration official, former Federal Emergency Management Agency chief James Lee Witt, to help run relief efforts.
Blanco was not informed of the timing of Bush's visit, nor was she immediately invited to meet him or travel with him. Blanco's office didn't know Bush was coming. Monday afternoon, Bush visited Poplarville, Miss., to meet with Republican Gov. Haley Barbour and other state and local officials at the Pearl River Community College. The city is about 70 kilometres inland, but the area was in the path of Katrina's eye and devastation in the town and surrounding rural areas was enormous. "I just want you to know that when I'm thinking about how we can help this part of the world, Mississippi is on my mind," Bush told the crowd gathered at the college. "We're here for the long term." The Red Cross said that by Monday morning, 75,000 names were on its "family links registry" for disaster victims and their relatives. Victims go on the list when they are registered at shelters. Officials are now reporting some progress, and some new worries. Hundreds of federal health officers and nearly 100 tons of medical supplies were on their way to the Gulf Coast to try to head off disease outbreaks, feared because of the hot weather, mosquitos and standing water holding human waste, corpses and other contaminants. In other developments on Monday: - New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin warned that 10,000 people may have died. - Local officials believe thousands remained in the New Orleans area despite mass evacuations before and after Katrina   struck last Monday. - Rescuers in boats, helicopters and military vehicles continued their house-to-house search for people still stranded in   the city. - Residents of Louisiana's Jefferson Parish were allowed to return to salvage what is left of their homes, told they can   stay until Wednesday. - The U.S. Army said it had closed one major gap in the levees and was close to repairing a second. With some pumps   operating, water levels have dropped by 30 cm in some low-lying areas. - Some 400 to 500 police officers from New Orleans' 1,600 member force were unaccounted for, Deputy Police   Chief W.J. Riley said. - Reinforcements for police arrived from around the country, allowing a rest for emergency workers who have been   working nearly nonstop since before the storm hit. - Military officials dispatched 4,700 more active-duty troops to join relief efforts by Tuesday, up from 2,500 soldiers   announced Saturday. - State authorities said Louisiana's official death toll of 59 could rise into the thousands. - Well over 100 deaths have been confirmed in Mississippi, with many people unaccounted for. - The U.S. EPA said 1,223 drinking water systems in three states have been affected by Hurricane Katrina -- some   need fuel to run generators to stay operating. - Former Presidents Bush and Clinton announced a fund for victims, similar to the one they spearheaded after the   Asian tsunami. - Hurricane victims were given more than 100,000 knockoff items seized by federal customs officials, including counterfeit   and abandoned clothing, toys, and even dog food. - BP Plc said it has restarted oil production at some of its Gulf of Mexico facilities which had been shut due to hurricane. - European nations prepared aid teams, food rations, water pumps and cruise ships to help U.S. regions hit by the hurricane. - South Korea and Australia voiced frustration that U.S. relief efforts have prevented them from rescuing their citizens. Written by CBC News Online staff
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Saskatchewan turns 100, lights up sky and smiles Web Posted | Last Updated Mon, 05 Sep 2005  10:27:46  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 5th, 2005 Saskatchewan turned 100 and thousands in the province came out to party on Sunday. More than 100,000 firework effects were set off across the province, including an orange and green one created to look like the western red lily, the province's official flower. "Wonderful, fantastic, incredible," exclaimed Carol Allen of Regina. "Only Saskatchewan could do that." Saskatchewan shares its birthday with Alberta. Both entered Confederation on Sept. 1, 1905, but Saskatchewan saved its centennial party for Sunday. That was the anniversary of when the documents were signed in Regina.	Prime Minister Paul Martin (left) hands out cupcakes specially decorated to help mark the provinces centennial anniversary at a pinic in Regina, Sask. on Friday, September 2nd, 2005, as Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert (second from left) looks on.
Mounted RCMP officers in their red serge joined in the celebrations as did First Nations dancers wearing ancestral costumes. Singers Brad Johner, Colin James and Canadian Idol runner-up Theresa Sokyrka kept the crowds entertained throughout the day. "It's a very momentous occasion," said Beth Teskey, 63. "We've kept the province going for the first hundred years and the prospects are good for the next hundred." Prime Minister Paul Martin kicked off the celebrations on Friday. He made appearances in Saskatoon, Regina and at the Flying Dust First Nation in the north. Premier Lorne Calvert told crowds at the legislature about the values important to the province. "We dream of a province where the values of co-operation and caring, optimism and hope are the foundation of an unbreakable social fabric," Calvert said. "Here, in the heartland of the nation, may we always be a people with heart." Native son Brent Butt, star of television show Corner Gas, received a medal along with Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson. Butt said he was impressed by Saskatchewan's endurance and by its people. "Anytime anything can last for 100 years that is something pretty special," said Butt. "Especially for a province like Saskatchewan to be this big of a chunk of dirt and to have less than a million people living in it, you would think it would get swallowed up somehow." Written by CBC News Online staff
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U.S. must be prepared for what's coming - thousands dead from Katrina Web Posted | Last Updated Sun, 04 Sep 2005  13:55:41  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 4th, 2005
For the first time, a U.S. federal official has acknowledged what many had feared. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said Sunday the death toll from Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath is in the thousands.
"It's clear to me that this has been sickeningly difficult and profoundly tragic," Leavitt said. Earlier Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said "We need to prepare the country for what's coming." Chertoff declined to estimate the number of dead but conceded that an untold number of people could have perished in swamped homes and temporary shelters where many went for days without food or water. "What's going to happen when we de-water and remove the water from New Orleans is we're going to uncover people who died, maybe hiding in houses, got caught by the flood, people whose remains are going to be found in the streets...It is going to be about as ugly of a scene as I think you can imagine."	A dead body floats in front of a house on the east side of New Orleans, LA., in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina Saturday, September 3rd, 2005.
Leavitt said he had received a report of an outbreak of dysentery in Biloxi, Miss. Dysentery is a painful intestinal disease that can cause dehydration and can sometimes be fatal. Federal officials are concerned about disease in the aftermath of the hurricane. The lack of clean drinking water in parts of the Gulf Coast region and standing flood waters with decomposing bodies and human waste in the streets of New Orleans could cause a rash of infectious diseases, including West Nile virus and the often-fatal E. coli bacteria. Chertoff also said with the additional National Guard and regular troops dispatched to the area, that New Orleans has been secured. "We've got the adequate personnel now who are able to make sure that we have a comprehensive evacuation effort." With the evacuation of the Superdome and the convention centre complete, air and boat crews are searching flooded neighbourhoods in and around New Orleans looking for survivors. The U.S. Coast Guard is calling for those still stranded to show a signal, like brightly coloured or white sheets, towels or anything else that might catch a rescuer's eye. Written by CBC News Online staff
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Amidst criticism and chaos, Bush concedes response to Katrina 'not acceptable' Web Posted | Last Updated Fri, 02 Sep 2005  13:42:30  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 3rd, 2005 U.S. President George W. Bush, beginning a tour of the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast, vowed Friday the government will restore order in lawless New Orleans, and said the $10.5 billion US being approved by Congress is just a small down payment for disaster relief. "I'm not looking forward to this trip," Bush said as he set out for a first-hand look at the destruction in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. "It's as if the entire Gulf Coast were obliterated by the worst kind of weapon you can imagine," he said.	US President George W. Bush speaking to the press before leaving to survey the devastation in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Bush began his day at the White House, where he expressed unhappiness with the efforts so far to provide food and water to hurricane victims, and to stop looting and lawlessness in New Orleans. "The results are not acceptable," said Bush, who rarely admits failure. The president's comments came after New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin lashed out at federal officials, telling New Orleans radio station WLL "they don't have a clue what's going on down here." Nagin said he was "pissed" at the lack of help. "We authorized $8 billion to go to Iraq, lickety split. After 9/11 we gave the president unauthorized powers, lickety split to help New York and other places," he said. "You mean to tell me that a place where most of your oil is coming through ... that we can't figure out a way to authorize the resources that we need," said Nagin. Before leaving Washington for Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, President George Bush told reporters aid was "surging" in, but acknowledged that "the results are not acceptable." He got a warm reception in Mobile from Governors Haley Barbour of Mississippi and Bob Riley of Alabama, with both praising the federal government's response. Standing with the governors in an airplane hangar, Bush said: "We have a responsibility to clean up this mess. What is not working right, we're going to make it right." A truck convoy of National Guard troops arrived in Louisiana Friday with food, water and weapons, and orders to retake the streets and bring relief to the suffering. "The cavalry is and will continue to arrive," one general told the Associated Press. The trucks began arriving at the New Orleans Convention Center, where 15,000 to 20,000 hungry and desperate victims had taken shelter -- many of them seething with anger so intense that the place appeared ready to erupt in violence at any moment. Written by CBC News Online staff
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New Orleans mayor blasts federal government for slow response Web Posted | Last Updated Fri, 02 Sep 2005  11:21:58  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 2nd, 2005 "Now get off your asses and fix this. Let's do something and let's fix the biggest goddam crisis in the history of this country," an emotional New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin pleaded Thursday night in a radio interview.	New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin
Nagin blasted the federal government, saying he was "pissed" at the lack of help the historic city had received. "We authorized $8 billion to go to Iraq, lickety split. After 9/11 we gave the president unauthorized powers, lickety split to help New York and other places," he said. "You mean to tell me that a place where most of your oil is coming through ... that we can't figure out a way to authorize the resources that we need," said Nagin. Before leaving Washington for Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, President George Bush told reporters aid was "surging" in, but acknowledged that "the results are not acceptable."
Listen to New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin lash out at U.S. officials. Runs 12:16.
Warning: The interview contains harsh language. Courtesy CBS affiliate WWL Radio Written by CBC News Online staff
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Canadian relief agencies start to help Katrina victims Web Posted | Last Updated Wed, 31 Aug 2005  18:37:09  EDT Giant Dwarf Posted: Sep 1st, 2005
Canadian relief agencies have moved to help the U.S. states hit by Hurricane Katrina. Winnipeg-based Mennonite Disaster Service said Wednesday it is gathering donations to help send hundreds of volunteers to rebuild homes. Lois Nickel of the Mennonite group said volunteers from nearby states could be in Alabama by the weekend, helping to clear roads of fallen trees. She said a U.S. team is heading to Gulfport, Mississippi, where they hope to establish a base camp for volunteers next to the city's Mennonite church. Nickel said a call for hundreds of Canadian volunteers may not happen for several weeks, depending on how long it takes to set up the church camp. Canadian Red Cross volunteers with experience in large scale disasters were being contacted Wednesday and officials hoped a handful would be travelling to the southern U.S. by the weekend. Suzanne Charest of the Red Cross said they'll likely send more than 100 volunteers in the coming weeks to help serve hot meals, assess the needs of displaced families and to train other volunteers. In Edmonton, Canada's Public Security Minister said Canada will do whatever it can for the U.S. Anne McLellan said that could involve a wide variety of things, including sending military engineers. But McLellan said medical drugs may be among the first items Canada is called upon to ship south. She said an American government agency asked Ottawa to do an inventory of medication that could help stop the spread of infection. McLellan said the inventory has been done and the U.S. government has been informed of Canada's ability to ship the drugs. Written by CBC News Online staff