  Past Articles:
 Olympic Medal StandingsThese "Articles" are dated from February 1st, 2006 - February 28th, 2006.
 Olympians return home triumphant |
28/02/06
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Harper applauds Canadian Olympians
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27/02/06
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Newfoundland digging out from massive blizzard
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26/02/06
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Hughes wins 5,000, Klassen 3rd
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25/02/06
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Gushue goes for curling gold
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24/02/06
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What happened to Team Canada?
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23/02/06
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Canadian couple murdered in Mexico
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22/02/06
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Bernardo confessed to more crimes: report
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21/02/06
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Water still a problem on 76 reserves
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20/02/06
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Canadian troops exchange fire in Afghanistan
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19/02/06
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Switzerland stuns Canadian men 2-0
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18/02/06
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Hundreds missing in Philippine landslide
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17/02/06
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Nickelback leads Juno nominations
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16/02/06
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Harris denies using profanity over native protest
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15/02/06
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Mike Harris to give evidence at Ipperwash inquiry
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14/02/06
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Britain to investigate alleged beating of Iraqis, Blair says
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13/02/06
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By a single vote, Iraqi PM wins chance to keep job
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12/02/06
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'I won't quit' embattled Emerson tells CBC
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11/02/06
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Some MPs muse about new probe following report of cash paid to Mulroney
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10/02/06
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New questions raised over Mulroney's ties with German businessman
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09/02/06
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Tocchet faces gambling charges
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08/02/06
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Woman gives birth in Toronto subway
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07/02/06
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Tory cabinet expected to be smaller
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06/02/06
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100,000 without power in Ontario
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05/02/06
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Embassies set ablaze over caricature
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04/02/06
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Ship sinks in Red Sea with 1,300 aboard
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03/02/06
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Blizzard lingers in Newfoundland
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02/02/06
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U.S. troops shoot Canadian car in Baghdad
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01/02/06
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Olympians return home triumphant
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue, 28 Feb 2006 04:45:03 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 28th, 2006
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Brad Gushue of St. John's was one of several Olympians to return home a conquering hero.
Gushue, 25, and his curling teammates were greeted by more than 2,000 supporters when their midnight flight touched down in St. John's.
The crowd waved flags – the Maple Leaf and that of Newfoundland and Labrador – and sang the Ode to Newfoundland as they waited in the airport for their province's first ever Olympic gold medallist to arrive.
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Gushue skipped Canada's men's curling team to a gold medal in the Torino Olympic Winter Games.
"It's been a long trip," he said earlier as he arrived in Toronto, before catching a connecting flight to Newfoundland. "We've been away from home for a month.
"It's nice to get back in Canada and, hopefully, start eating some good Canadian food. I think this (reception) is maybe one of 100 we're going to get.
"There is already stuff being planned for us. And we're ready to take it all in and enjoy it."
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Duff Gibson is hoisted by his firefighting co-workers Monday evening in Calgary. (AP Photo/Jeff McIntosh)
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Shannon Kleibrink of Calgary was equally ecstatic to bring home the bronze in women's curling.
"It's awesome," she said. "It feels like a gold medal to us after the struggles we had there so, yeah, it was great."
Skeleton gold-medallist Duff Gibson, 39, was warmly welcomed by 100 fans when he landed in Calgary.
"It cannot get any better than this," he said. "So I'm done sliding."
Gibson's plane was escorted along the tarmac to the arrival gate by three fire trucks driven by co-workers.
"I'm junior man at the (fire) hall, so my responsibility starts at toilets and goes up from there," he quipped. "I think I'll be brought back down to Earth if my head's getting swollen at any point."
Conversely, several members of Team Canada's men's hockey team, which departed meekly in the quarter-finals, slipped past the waiting throngs of adoring fans almost unnoticed.
"It's definitely a disappointment for us," said defenceman Adam Foote, who plays for the Columbus Blue Jackets. "We feel like we let everyone down.
"But there were good teams over there, and there were teams that came together quickly. We will learn from this and be better next time."
"When you look at what we have been doing the last number of years, we have done very, very well on the international stage," Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson told reporters. "Here, we lost a quarter-final game against a Russian team that played very well.
"We'll certainly all go back and look at the briefing, but not in a panic mode at all. I think we're just really disappointed that we didn't get the job done."
Perhaps they can at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, which were profiled in Sunday's closing ceremonies at Turin.
"When they did the introduction for Vancouver I got pretty tingly," said Mellissa Hollingsworth-Richards, who won a bronze in women's skeleton.
"I was really excited to get home. It definitely lit a little bit of a flame in my heart to work harder and, hopefully, to be in Vancouver and on top of the podium."
Written by CBC News Staff with files from CP Online
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Harper applauds Canadian Olympians
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun, 26 Feb 2006 21:04:38 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 27th, 2006
Prime Minister Stephen Harper heaped praise on Canadian Olympians Sunday saying they did their country proud at the recently completed Winter Games in Turin, Italy.
"Congratulations to Team Canada in Turin," Harper said in a statement.
"Throughout the Games, you have proudly displayed our national colours and have been outstanding ambassadors for both sports and our country, through your dignity, respect and dedication."
"Over the past 17 days, millions of Canadians of all ages have closely followed your
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Canadian team members wave as they march during the Winter Olympics closing cermeony in Turin, Italy, (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
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competitions and you have made us proud, delivering world-class performances."
Canadian athletes combined to win 24 medals at the Torino Games – Canada's best-ever medal haul.
The Canada's previous best total was 17 medals. That plateau was reached in 2002 at the Salt Lake City Games.
Canadian Olympic officials are hoping to do even better at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. The goal is to win 35 medals and finish atop the medal standings.
Written by CBC News Staff
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Newfoundland digging out from massive blizzard
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun, 26 Feb 2006 12:46:31 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 26th, 2006
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Residents of eastern Newfoundland spent Sunday digging out from a blizzard that dumped enough snow to clog streets, close the airport and shut down St. John's.
Many roads in the capital are buried under snowdrifts up to 1.5 metres deep and littered with stranded cars. Saturday's storm brought up to 60 centimetres of snow with winds that gusted to hurricane force levels of 130 km/h.
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Even snowplows had trouble keeping up with the storm.
"This would be certainly one of the worst storms we've had in the last two or three years," said Paul Mackey, the city's director of public works.
But by Sunday morning, a city webcam showed streets getting visibly clearer each hour.
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Snow and the city: St. John's, Saturday. (Courtesy St. John's)
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Environment Canada is predicting flurries and winds of 30 km/h, gusting to 50 km/h, for Sunday.
Environment Canada meteorologist Glenda Saulnier said Newfoundland and Labrador has seen more storms this year than any other Atlantic province.
"I'd say you're keeping us on our toes. It's been a fairly benign winter for the rest of the Maritimes. Most of the action's been happening in Newfoundland," she said.
Written by CBC News Staff
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Hughes wins 5,000, Klassen 3rd
Web Posted | Last Updated Sat, 25 Feb 2006 13:17:57 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 25th, 2006
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Speed skater Clara Hughes poured on the speed over the final lap to snatch the gold medal away from teammate Cindy Klassen in Saturday's 5,000 metres at the Torino Olympic Winter Games.
With Klassen having clocked the time to beat, Hughes, 33, pulled away from three-time defending champion Claudia Pechstein of Germany to win the final pairing in six minutes, 59.07 seconds - and her first-ever gold medal.
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"I just believed in myself until the last stride," a beaming Hughes told CBC Sports. "It almost killed me, but that's what it took to win the Olympics today."
It was a remarkably display of determination as Hughes trailed by nearly four seconds midway through the 12 1/2 lap marathon.
"The race started with five laps to go and that's when I knew it was going to hurt and that's when I knew I could fight," she said. "I just believed in myself and knew that my strength would be in the finish.
"I just bided my time. Every lap, I fought to keep my good technique and I knew the last lap I could outpace anyone."
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Canadian speed skater Clara Hughes claimed a gold medal in the women's 5,000 metres Saturday at the Torino Olympics.
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Pechstein settled for the silver medal and bumped Klassen to bronze.
Ironically, Hughes nudged out Klassen to clinch the bronze in the 5,000 at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.
"It was same as in Salt Lake City where I just felt like my body and brain went to a whole other planetary system," she said.
Klassen set Canadian records with five medals at Turin and six all told, but so did Hughes as the first multiple-medallist in both the Summer and Winter Olympics.
Hughes claimed silver in last week's team pursuit, to go with two bronze she won in cycling at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games.
"If you dream and you allow yourself to dream, you truly can do anything," Hughes explained. "And that's what this gold medal represents."
Both Hughes and Klassen hail from Winnipeg.
Ottawa's Kristina Groves maintained lap times of approximately 33 seconds in the fourth pairing and held the provisional lead of 7:03.95 until Daniela Anschuetz Thoms of Germany lowered it by 1.13 seconds in the sixth.
Groves wound up sixth overall, but still leaves Turin with silvers medals in the 1,500 and team pursuit.
Competing in the seventh of eight pairings with Czech teenager Martina Sablikova, Klassen opened swiftly and, rather than set a comfortable pace, kept churning, leading by as much as five seconds at the 3,000-metre mark and 5.49 seconds through 4,200.
Sablikova rallied over the final two laps to finish fourth in 7:01.38.
Klassen was, unquestionably, the story of the Games, departing Turin as Canada's most prolific Olympian ever.
She also won gold in the 1,500, silvers in the 1,000 and the inaugural team pursuit, and bronze in the 3,000.
Klassen is the first Canadian athlete to win five medals in a single Olympics and the first with six overall.
Her career total surpasses that of runner Phil Edwards and speed skater Marc Gagnon, who won five apiece over three Olympics.
Klassen eclipsed the career mark over two Olympics and, only 27 years old, could add to her haul at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games.
Written by CBC News Staff with files from CP Online
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Gushue goes for curling gold
Web Posted | Last Updated Fri, 24 Feb 2006 08:23:18 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 24th, 2006
Brad Gushue is a lock to win Canada's record 20th medal at the Torino Olympics, but he's also trying to make history in Pinerolo, Italy.
The 25-year-old skip and his rink of third Mark Nichols, second Russ Howard and lead Jamie Korab will take on Finland's Markku Uusipaavalniemi for curling gold on Friday (CBC, 11:30 a.m. EST).
With a win, Gushue would become the first Canadian men's curler to win Olympic gold. Canada's women, led by the late Sandra Schmirler, finished first at the 1998 Nagano Games.
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Canadian skip Brad Gushue, left, will draw on the experience of Russ Howard in Friday's gold-medal match against Finland.
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"We're not taking any satisfaction in the fact that we're guaranteed a silver," Korab said after Wednesday's 11-5 semifinal win in nine ends over American Pete Fenson. "We came here to win the gold, and now we've got a shot."
On Thursday, Shannon Kleibrink's Calgary rink captured Canada's second straight Olympic bronze in women's curling with a convincing 11-5 victory over Norway's Dordi Nordby in eight ends.
Gushue and his team took in the match and were inspired by the result.
"I would love it," the St. John's native told CBC Sports when asked if he would take four points in the first end and a steal of one in the second like Kleibrink. "I'd take a four in any end and a steal in any end, and take our chances from there."
Gushue said his rink had a good feel for the ice during Thursday's practice. "Just more confidence-building for [Friday]."
Like Kleibrink, Gushue will have an entire nation behind him, including thousands of school kids who were given the afternoon off by Newfoundland and Labrador Education Minister Joan Burke.
She called Friday's match a historic moment for Newfoundland and Labrador.
"We want our students to remember exactly where they were when they saw the world recognize the talent in this province," Burke said in a statement.
In St. John's, a crowd of about 6,000 is expected to gather at Mile One Stadium to watch the final.
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Gushue, favoured to win gold when he arrived at these Olympics, fashioned a 6-3 record in the round robin that included an 8-7 loss to Finland on Feb. 17.
Trailing 8-6 and lying two in the 10th end, Gushue looked poised to pull even, but his final rock stopped inches short of the upper edge of the outer ring.
That allowed Uusipaavalniemi to remove a Canadian stone and, despite conceding one point, clinch victory.
Finland advanced to the gold-medal game with a 4-3 win over Great Britain on Uusipaavalniemi's game-ending throw.
In the final, expect Gushue to lean on Howard as experience could prove the difference.
A two-time champion and 13-time Brier representative, 50-year-old Howard came aboard nearly a year ago to call games and played a big role in Gushue prevailing at the Olympic trials in December.
"(Gushue) used to make mental mistakes," CBC curling analyst Mike Harris said prior to the Olympics. "Russ has eliminated that from the equation. (Strategy) is the difference between the top 10, 15 teams in the world and the guys that are close. All the teams can make all the shots. It's about playing smart."
The United States and Great Britain will compete for the bronze medal on Friday (7 a.m. EST).
The Americans have never won a curling medal – men's or women's – in Olympic history.
Written by CBC News Staff
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What happened to Team Canada?
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu, 23 Feb 2006 01:23:58 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 23rd, 2006
Coach Pat Quinn was right about one thing. Canada's Olympic men's hockey team would be heading home early from the Torino Olympics following its next sub-par effort.
That came Wednesday when the Canadians fell 2-0 to Russia in a sudden-death quarter-final, their third shutout loss in six games.
Heavily favoured to repeat as gold-medal champions, Canada didn't play the physical, forechecking style it wanted for any sustained period and had trouble defending faster opponents on the Olympic-size ice.
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A group of concerned Canadian players look on during Wednesday's 2-0 quarter-final loss to Russia.
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"We know we have to win the gold," Team Canada executive director Wayne Gretzky told Sun Media before the Olympics.
"We don't have anything else on our minds."
Perhaps that was part of the problem.
Was Canada guilty of looking past the game at hand? On at least one occasion, defenceman Chris Pronger told CBC Sports that the Canadians "have to keep their eye on the prize."
Unfortunately for Gretzky and company, the problems seemed to run much deeper.
First of all, a Canadian outfit that was stock-piled with NHL scorers – they didn't even have a true checking line – couldn't beat Finland's Antero Niittymaki, Switzerland's Martin Gerber and Russia's Evgeni Nabokov. The first two weren't even No. 1 goalies in the NHL before this season.
Another disappointment was Canada's undisciplined play. Too often, players took penalties that proved costly.
Pronger said his team had a tough time adjusting to the new rules early on, believing the game would be called to NHL standards.
"At times we got caught up in what was going to be called and what wasn't, and what other teams were getting away with," said Pronger. "It's a matter of adjusting and understanding what [the referees] are and aren't going to call."
How about Canada's power play? It was horrific, going 0-for-8 against Russia and converting just five of 40 chances in the tournament.
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"We'll probably think about it a lot," Quinn said of his team's lack of offence. "We have a talented group that does score in the National Hockey League, but the bottom line was that we had to come together as a team and we didn't do it as well as we needed to."
Quinn sounded like a broken record with every passing day, saying his team didn't play as five-man units.
So, did Canada put together a roster that didn't have a chance to develop the required chemistry in such a short tournament?
Gretzky and his executive committee chose to reunite a bunch of players who won the 2002 Olympic tournament in Salt Lake City and 2004 World Cup, while young up-and-comers like Eric Staal and Jason Spezza were relegated to the taxi squad.
Pittsburgh Penguins rookie standout Sidney Crosby was ignored completely, despite sitting 12th in NHL scoring with 65 points in 58 games.
Fellow speedsters like Jonathan Cheechoo and Patrick Marleau, both having career seasons with the San Jose Sharks, also couldn't make the cut.
Instead, guys like Todd Bertuzzi, Rick Nash, Kris Draper, Vincent Lecavalier and Ryan Smyth got the call. None of them will leave Turin having scored a goal.
"People are going to question who was on the ice and who was on the team and that's OK," Gretzky told CBC Sports. "I'm a pretty big boy. I can stand up [to any criticism].
"[But] obviously we have to do something different for 2010."
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The criticism started long before the Canadian squad arrived in Italy on Feb. 14.
Many thought choosing Bertuzzi, coming off a one-year suspension for an incident involving Colorado's Steve Moore, was sending the wrong message.
As for Nash, he was brilliant at the 2005 world championships playing on a line with Joe Thornton, but has spent the bulk of this season battling injuries.
Compounding matters were significant injuries to top defencemen Ed Jovanovski and Scott Niedermayer. Both had to withdraw from the team after undergoing abdominal and knee surgery, respectively.
Before that, Team Canada took a huge hit in the leadership department when Steve Yzerman and Mario Lemieux withdrew their names from consideration. Lemieux went on to retire, citing health concerns.
"I'll take all the responsibility for not winning," said Gretzky, who was non-committal about returning in four years to oversee Team Canada at the Vancouver Games. "I just want [Canada] to win in 2010.
"We're not going to go anywhere. This country will regroup and this team will be ready for 2010."
Written by CBC News Staff
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Canadian couple murdered in Mexico
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue, 21 Feb 2006 23:53:58 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 22nd, 2006
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Mexican police are investigating the murder of a Canadian man and his wife.
The couple, Domenico Ianiero, 59, and his wife Annunziata, 55, were from Woodbridge, Ont., just north of Toronto.
They were staying at a hotel near Playa del Carmen, south of Cancun.
They were in Mexico for their daughter's wedding and were travelling with more than a dozen other family members.
Reports say they were found dead on Monday morning, apparently stabbed to death in the bathroom of their hotel room.
Canadian foreign affairs officials say they have been in touch with the family of the victims and have offered assistance, but have not released any further information.
Mexican authorities are continuing to investigate. They are reportedly looking at two suspects. According to Mexican news sources both suspects are Canadian women.
Written by CBC News Staff
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Bernardo confessed to more crimes: report
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue, 21 Feb 2006 08:15:14 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 21st, 2006
Convicted killer Paul Bernardo has confessed to at least 10 more sexual assaults.
Bernardo asked his lawyer to relay the confession to authorities to clear up some loose ends in his case.
Convicted in 1995, Bernardo is serving a life sentence for 14 rapes and the murders of teenagers Kristin French and Leslie Mahaffy. He claims he committed another series of rapes between 1986 and 1991.
He has been declared a dangerous offender, which will keep him in prison indefinitely.
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Paul Bernardo
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His former wife, Karla Homolka, told police in 1993 that Bernardo told her he had raped as many as 30 women.
Homolka, who served 12 years in prison for her role in the slayings, completed her sentence in July.
Written by CBC News Staff
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Water still a problem on 76 reserves
Web Posted | Last Updated Mon, 20 Feb 2006 08:15:39 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 20th, 2006
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Seventy-six First Nations communities remain under an advisory to boil drinking water, according to new information from Health Canada.
That's despite the fact the federal Department of Indian and Northern Affairs has spent almost $2 billion to upgrade systems in the past five years.
CBC News filed access-to-information requests to obtain water audits on reserves in 2001, and compared that data with current information.
Among the findings:
 - Drinking water in two-thirds of First Nations communities remains "at risk," compared to three-quarters of all such communities in 2001. - Sixty-two per cent of water-system operators serving native communities aren't properly certified.
- Some of the 76 reserves still under boil-water advisories, about 10 per cent of all First Nations reserves in the country, have been in that position for years. People are forced to rely on bottled water for drinking, cooking and brushing their teeth, and some residents say the water is too dirty even for bathing.
Bob Pratt, water manager for the Gordon First Nation in southern Saskatchewan, says his community has just installed a new filtration system to fix a long-standing health hazard – dangerous levels of arsenic in the water.
"We are now down under the guidelines," he said. "With our new process, we hope to take all of the arsenic out of the water. But for all those years... I've had questions I can't answer."
Pratt is among the many water operators who are not properly certified to run the systems in their communities. He requires another year of training.
"The focus, it seems to me, [has] been on equipment, rather than on personnel."
Steve Hrudey, a professor of environmental health and a water-quality specialist from the University of Alberta, can't understand why First Nations still lag behind non-native communities when it comes to safeguarding water.
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"Often facilities are designed and put in place by people who don't have to operate them," he said. "They leave behind a manual and they leave town."
He points out that bureaucrats in Ottawa seem to understand that you have to put trained public health nurses in the communities.
"Why can't you put trained water operators in there? Obviously [you] have to pay them, and you have to invest in a program that will make sure they know what they're doing, but that doesn't seem to be happening, and I can't tell you why."
Canada's commissioner of the environment and sustainable development, Johanne Gelinas, recently called for stricter controls and monitoring of how Indian and Northern Affairs Canada is trying to fix the problems.
There are still no laws or regulatory standards similar to those in non-native communities, when it comes to drinking water for the about 325,000 residents of Canada's First Nations reserves, Gelinas, who works in the auditor general's office, pointed out.
Written by CBC News Staff
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Canadian troops exchange fire in Afghanistan
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun, 19 Feb 2006 11:21:29 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 19th, 2006
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Canadians on patrol in southern Afghanistan came under fire Saturday night when three rocket-propelled grenades landed near their camp.
No Canadians were hurt. They responded by firing shells from their new M777 howitzer, a towed artillery piece weighing more than 4,100 kilograms.
Coalition forces were sheltered behind a mud-walled compound on farmland about 60 kilometres northeast of their Kandahar base.
The grenades fell into fields just south of the village of Gumbad, military officials said.
Members of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, who were setting up the camp, illuminated the area with flares. They sent a patrol to investigate but found no sign of the attackers.
On Sunday morning, Afghan police turned over to Canadian troops 43 kettle bombs, military officials told CBC News.
They're landmines put into cooking pots and hidden in places such as markets. They can be detonated from two kilometres away.
The discovery comes as Canada's military presence in the Kandahar region, in southern Afghanistan, is set to increase to 2,200 this month in an effort to improve security in the region.
Eighty-seven more troops left their base in Edmonton on Saturday for a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan, replacing 40 who arrived home.
Written by CBC News Staff
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Switzerland stuns Canadian men 2-0
Web Posted | Last Updated Sat, 18 Feb 2006 12:19:36 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 18th, 2006
In a game that was supposed to be a warm-up for tougher opponents, Switzerland shocked the Canadian men's hockey team 2-0 at the Torino Olympics Saturday.
After stunning the Czech Republic Thursday with a 3-2 win, using speed and great goaltending, the Swiss displayed the same formula to upset Canada at Torino Esposizioni.
Former Montreal Canadiens forward Paul di Pietro scored two goals and goalie Martin Gerber played superbly for the shutout.
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Switzerland's Thierry Paterlini is upended by Canada's Martin Brodeur and Bryan McCabe in Saturday's 2-0 win at Turin.
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The loss doesn't affect Canada's chances of winning a gold medal, but it may change the seeding for the quarter-finals and beyond.
It's Switzerland's first-ever win against Canada in international competition.
Written by CBC News Staff
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Hundreds missing in Philippine landslide
Web Posted | Last Updated Fri, 17 Feb 2006 08:07:46 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 17th, 2006
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Rescue workers and sniffer dogs are frantically searching for survivors on an eastern Philippine island on Friday after a mudslide roared down a mountainside, wiping out an entire village.
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About two dozen bodies have been recovered from the farming community on Leyte island, about 670 kilometres southeast of Manila. About 30 more people are injured.
Initial estimates said 1,500 people are missing, but Global Radio News reporter Dean Bernardo told CBC Newsworld that about 3,000 people live in the Guinsaugon village area of St. Bernard town.
Two other villages were affected by the morning landslide and about 3,000 evacuees were at a municipal building.
Witness Dario Libatan told Manila radio station DZMM that it sounded like the "mountain exploded and the whole thing crumbled."
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A child is carried from a landslide on Leyte island in the eastern Philippines, Friday, Feb. 17.
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Helicopters, navy ships and a military plane rushed to the island, but rainy weather is making the rescue effort difficult. Heavy equipment can't work in the mud – which is up to nine metres deep in some areas – so people were using their hands to dig for survivors.
The town's mayor said rescuers have reported hearing thunder and booming noises from the mountain, and fear another mudslide, said Bernardo.
Heavy rains have pounded the area for two weeks and there were reports of a mild earthquake around the time of the mudslide, he said.
"Let us all pray for those who perished and were affected by this tragedy," President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said in a statement. "Help is on the way."
A U.S. military spokesperson said American forces serving in the Philippines are ready to help as soon as they receive an official request from the Philippine government.
Eva Tomol, a member of the provincial governing board, said many residents left the area last week because of the landslide threat, but had been making their way back as the rain started to ease.
A 1991 landslide on Leyte island killed 6,000 people.
Written by CBC News Staff
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Rescue workers tend to a landslide survivor on Leyte island in the eastern Philippines, Friday, Feb. 17.
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Nickelback leads Juno nominations
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu, 16 Feb 2006 04:57:40 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 16th, 2006
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Alberta rockers Nickelback lead the race for honours from the Canadian music industry with six nominations for the 35th annual Juno Awards.
Well-established pop favourites like Diana Krall and crooner Michael Bublé each netted five nominations, including album of the year for Krall's Christmas Songs and Bublé's It's Time. Krall has already won nine Junos.
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The awards organized by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences will be presented on April 2 in Halifax, with performances by Coldplay, Nickelback, Bedouin Soundclash and Broken Social Scene.
Two singers who earned their fame on Canadian Idol are among nominees for artist of the year. Kalan Porter, the Medicine Hat heartthrob who won the reality TV series in 2004, is nominated for best artist and album of the year for 219 Days. Rex Goudie, who placed second in 2005 but drew a phalanx of admirers, is up for best artist and album of the year for Under the Lights.
Vancouver pop-rock band Hedley, fronted by another Idol runner-up, Jacob Hoggard, was also a multiple nominee with nominations for best rock album and best new group.
K-os, newcomer Bedouin Soundclash and Neil Young, who had to cancel his performance at last year's Junos because of a brain aneurysm, are also multiple nominees.
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Chad Kroeger, left, and drummer Daniel Adair of Nickelback perform at MuchMusic in Toronto on Oct. 13, 2005.
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Nominees in most categories are determined by sales, and organizers said this led to a concentration on artists who had already achieved commercial success, while artists from Canada's booming indie scene were overlooked.
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Nickelback, whose All the Right Reasons debuted at the top of the Billboard charts in Canada and the United States, was an obvious contender. The group earned nominations for fan choice, single of the year for Photograph, album of the year, group of the year, rock album of the year and best producer.
Barenaked Ladies, Blue Rodeo, Nickelback, Our Lady Peace and Vancouver band Theory of a Deadman are up for group of the year.
Krall, Porter, Bublé, Goudie and Quebec group Boom Desjardins are competing for artist of the year.
Indie artists are more represented in the alternative album of the year category, with nominations for their self-titled album by Broken Social Scene, Elevator by Hot Hot Heat, Live It Out by Metric, So Jealous by Tegan & Sara, and Twin Cinema by The New Pornographers.
Among the rap recording of the year nominees are K'naan with his The Dusty Foot Philosopher and Classified with Boy-Cott in the Industry, as well as Eternia's It's Called Life, Kardinal Offishall's Fire & Glory and Sweatshop Union's United We Fall.
Daniel Powter, Divine Brown, Jonas, Martha Wainwright and Sky Sweetnam are nominated for best new artist.
The best new group nominees are Bedouin Soundclash, Boys Night Out, Hedley, Pocket Dwellers and Silverstein.
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Canadian jazz pianist Diana Krall performs in August 2005 in Toronto.
Canadian Idol winner Kalan Porter, of Medicine Hat, Alta., waves after winning the competition in Toronto on Sept. 16, 2004.
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Junos are also to be awarded for best country, rap, adult alternative, jazz and classical recordings. The awards will be broadcast on CTV.
Written by CBC News Staff
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Harris denies using profanity over native protest
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue, 14 Feb 2006 19:55:55 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 15th, 2006
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Former Ontario premier Mike Harris testified Tuesday he never used profanity to describe aboriginal protesters during a meeting about a 1995 native occupation of Ipperwash Provincial Park.
Harris, testifying for the first time at a public inquiry into the shooting death of native protester Dudley George, was responding to an allegation in testimony by Charles Harnick, his attorney general at the time of the protest.
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Harnick testified last November that Harris, then the premier, said: "I want the fucking Indians out of the park," during a meeting at the legislature just hours before George was killed by police in the Ipperwash clash in 1995.
On Tuesday, Harris said: "I absolutely did not say that, or words to those effect, or use that adjective at any time during this meeting."
Others who testified previously either said they had no recollection of Harris making the remark or attributed it to someone else.
Earlier Tuesday, Harris said he knew his government had no authority to intervene in police matters during the native occupation.
Harris said he was clear on the separation between government and police. A central issue of the judicial probe into the shooting is whether Harris had any role in directing the police response to the occupation.
Some people have blamed Harris for George's death and have accused him of ordering police to use force to oust the protesters.
Harris has always maintained he never pressured police to quell the protest quickly by using force. He also stressed Tuesday that at no time did he communicate directly with officers directing the operation.
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Former Ontario premier Mike Harris is sworn in at the inquiry into the shooting death of native protester Dudley George.
Dudley George
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The inquiry into George's death began in April 2004 and is being held in Forest, Ont., near where George was shot.
It has already heard from about 100 witnesses, including several police officers and former cabinet ministers.
George died on Sept. 6, 1995, after being shot by a provincial police officer at the park near Sarnia in southwestern Ontario.
He was among a group of native protesters who had occupied the park two days earlier, claiming the land was the site of an ancient burial ground for the Stony Point band.
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But Harris testified Tuesday that he wasn't aware of a burial-site land claim. He said he instructed his senior staff to treat the situation like any other illegal occupation, and not one that related to native rights. He also wanted his staff to seek an injunction to remove the protesters from the park.
"That was certainly my view, that we should take action," Harris said. "It should be clear what that action is. It should be decisive and that taking no action was in fact a mistake."
Native groups had tried for years to get an inquiry into the shooting, but Harris and his Conservatives refused.
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Dalton McGuinty launched the inquiry only days after his Liberals swept to power in 2003.
The inquiry's commission, led by Justice Sidney Linden, is expected to deliver its final report sometime in late 2006.
Written by CBC News Staff
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Mike Harris to give evidence at Ipperwash inquiry
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue, 14 Feb 2006 07:47:52 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 14th, 2006
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Former Ontario premier Mike Harris is to begin testimony on Tuesday at the inquiry into the police shooting of a protester during a 1995 native occupation at Ipperwash Provincial Park.
The public inquiry into Dudley George's death began in April 2004. It has already heard from about 100 witnesses, including several police officers and former cabinet ministers.
Harris's name came up several times during that testimony and his appearance has been long awaited. Some people have blamed Harris – who was premier at the time of the standoff – for the death and accused him of ordering police to use force to oust the protesters.
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Harris has steadfastly said he never pressured police to quell the protest quickly, using force.
George died on Sept. 6, 1995, after being shot by an Ontario Provincial Police officer at the park near Sarnia in southwestern Ontario.
He was among a group of native protesters who had occupied the park two days earlier, claiming the land was the site of an ancient burial ground for the Stony Point band.
The violence immediately thrust the recently elected Harris and his Conservatives into the centre of a firestorm.
Throughout his nearly eight years in office, Harris made it clear that he resented accusations that he authorized police to use force.
"I don't give orders to the OPP, we get briefed by the OPP as a situation. It's up to the OPP to deal with any of these situations," he once said.
But at the inquiry, a senior police officer said he attended a meeting with Harris and senior cabinet ministers only hours before the shooting and got the impression they were gun-loving rednecks who couldn't care less about aboriginals.
In a taped conversation that was played at the inquiry, OPP Insp. Ron Fox briefed his boss on the meeting.
"We're dealing with a real redneck government," Fox said in the recording. "They just are in love with guns. There's no question. They don't give a s**t less about Indians."
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Former Ontario premier Mike Harris.
Dudley George
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Fox went on to say that his impression was that the premier believed he had the authority to direct the OPP.
The issue is expected to be a central one when Harris testifies.
The allegation also came from another man who attended the meeting, then Attorney General Charles Harnick.
He told that inquiry that Harris said: "I want the f****** Indians out of the park."
Others who testified said they had no recollection of Harris making the remark or attributed it to someone else.
Harris's lawyer has said the former premier will deny ever making that statement when he testifies.
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Inquiry will be tough for Harris, analyst says
No other Canadian premier has ever testified at a public inquiry, but Harris will be doing it for the second time. The first was after the Walkerton tainted water scandal.
Graham White, a political science professor at the University of Toronto, predicted the Ipperwash inquiry would be much more difficult for the former premier.
"It must be a little galling for Mike Harris ... to be called to account for something that happened more than a decade ago. He's long out of office," White said.
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"The allegations effectively are that he bullied, in a very profound way, some pretty marginalized people."
Native groups tried for years to get an inquiry into the shooting, but Harris and his Conservatives refused.
However, Dalton McGuinty launched the inquiry only days after his Liberals swept to power in 2003.
The inquiry's commission, led by Justice Sidney Linden, is expected to deliver its final report sometime in late 2006.
Written by CBC News Staff
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Britain to investigate alleged beating of Iraqis, Blair says
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun, 12 Feb 2006 21:48:36 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 13th, 2006
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British Prime Minister Tony Blair has promised a full investigation into a video that appears to show British soldiers beating Iraqi youths.
The British newspaper News of the World published pictures from the video on Sunday, sparking outrage in the Middle East. It did not reveal the source.
Blair, attending a meeting in South Africa, said Britain takes the allegations of mistreatment seriously. They "will be investigated very fully indeed."
Brig. Martin Rutledge, a British military spokesman, said the Royal Military Police had started an "urgent" investigation.
The News of the World said the video showing the soldiers beating four youths with batons and kicking them was shot in southern Iraq in 2004.
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The pictures show British troops chasing youths throwing stones. Four are caught, dragged inside a walled compound and hit repeatedly.
The cameraman can be heard laughing as he watches the beatings. "Naughty little boys," he says at one point.
The paper said it was confident the video was genuine.
It appeared to be anticipating questions about the video after another British paper was forced to admit last year that photos it ran showing soldiers abusing Iraqis were faked.
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Blair, at a meeting in South Africa responds to questions about the video taped beatings.
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The video was broadcast on Arab satellite TV stations. In Baghdad, a man commented: "This reminds us of Saddam's police."
While promising an investigation, Blair also defended British soldiers.
"The overwhelming majority of British troops, in Iraq as elsewhere, behave properly, are doing a great job for our country and for the wider world."
Three British soldiers were jailed last year after being convicted of abusing prisoners in Iraq.
About 8,000 British soldiers are serving in Iraq.
Written by CBC News Staff
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By a single vote, Iraqi PM wins chance to keep job
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun, 12 Feb 2006 11:15:50 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 12th, 2006
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It looks as if Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a Shia physician who fled into exile during the reign of dictator Saddam Hussein and returned to lead the country, will keep his job.
In a 64-63 caucus vote on Sunday, lawmakers from the majority Shia Muslim sect gave him the nod to head the first full-term government since a U.S.-led invasion toppled Hussein in 2003.
The runner-up, by a single vote, was Vice-President Adil Abdul-Mahdi, an economist.
In his 10 months in office so far, al-Jaafari has been criticized for failing to improve the country's crippled economy or curb a bloody insurgency led by members of the Sunni minority that dominated Iraq under Hussein.
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Having barely won the backing of the Shia alliance, the biggest parliamentary bloc, he now faces the challenge of rallying Shia, Sunni, Kurdish and secularist politicians, among others, to form a broad-based government.
No easy job leading Iraq
He will have will have "a tough job containing the fierce rebel attacks that have surged the past weeks, specially after the country's national elections," the Qatar-based Arabic satellite channel Al-Jazeera said, adding that Sunnis accuse Shia militias tied to his U.S.-backed government of sending death squads against their leaders.
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Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.
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The government strongly denies those allegations, Al-Jazeera noted.
Jaafari lived in Iran and Britain after leaving the country in the 1980s during a brutal crackdown by Hussein.
Radial cleric a kingmaker?
Unlike some other Shia leaders, he is not regarded as an Muslim hard-liner.
"Al-Jaafari, married to a surgeon with whom he has five children, is widely seen as a soft-spoken, modest man with moderate views," CBC Online reported when he took power last year.
"He supports an active role for women in government and in society. He believes in mending the divisions between Iraq's religious and ethnic groups. And he takes a moderate view on the role of Islam in the country's politics.
But he may owe his caucus victory on Sunday to a radical Shia cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, who went into politics after leading two uprisings against U.S. and Iraqi troops after the invasion, Reuters reported.
Sadr apparently swung crucial votes toward Jaafrari, emerging as a kingmaker in the process, the news agency said.
Written by CBC News Staff
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'I won't quit' embattled Emerson tells CBC
Web Posted | Last Updated Sat, 11 Feb 2006 00:27:20 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 11th, 2006
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International Trade Minister David Emerson says he isn't going to bow to pressure and step down and face the electorate again in a byelection.
In his first public comments in more than two days, Emerson told CBC News in Vancouver on Friday night, "No, I'm not going to quit."
"We've got at least three, perhaps more, members of Parliament who have crossed the floor or opted to sit as an Independent. Frankly, my circumstances are not any different than those. As, and when, Parliament changes the rules to apply to all members of Parliament, I will abide by those rules," he said after getting off a flight at the Vancouver airport.
Earlier this week, when Stephen Harper was sworn in as prime minister, Emerson was named to the Conservative leader's cabinet as minister of international trade.
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He defected to the party he had repeatedly denounced in the weeks leading up to election day.
Critics are accusing the Conservatives of hypocrisy for supporting Emerson's move after they condemned Belinda Stronach for defecting to the Liberals.
But Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said Friday that Emerson's situation is different.
"It's one that took place in close proximity to the election. Unlike a previous situation where we saw an individual essentially salvage a government in exchange for a vote, receiving a cabinet post. I don't think anyone could attribute the same nefarious motives here."
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David Emerson
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Meanwhile, the NDP is asking the federal ethics commissioner, Bernard Shapiro, to investigate whether Harper breached any rules by offering Emerson a cabinet seat in exchange for crossing the floor.
"I think there's an appearance here that there was a reward that was offered for him crossing the floor and I think that's why Mr. Shapiro, our ethics commissioner, needs to conduct an inquiry into exactly what happened," said NDP MP Peter Julian, who wrote to the commissioner.
Emerson has said he was approached by the Tories and offered the cabinet job.
Meanwhile, Ontario Conservative MP Garth Turner said he is feeling the heat from his own party after speaking out against Emerson's defection to the Tories.
Turner is sticking by comments he made during the election campaign, that anyone who crosses the floor should step down and run in a byelection.
But he said his outspoken position on the subject has not been well received by his party.
"I think my talking about the need for members of parliament, in particular members of government to be elected as party representatives was not viewed as being helpful," Turner said.
He said he was called to a meeting with the prime minister Thursday. He won't say what the tone of the meeting was like, but he expects to face party discipline for speaking out.
Turner wrote in his blog that his new Ottawa office will be a "renovated washroom somewhere in a forgotten corner of a vermin-infested dank basement."
"That should go well with my seat in the House of Commons that will be visible only during lunar eclipses."
Written by CBC News Staff
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Some MPs muse about new probe following report of cash paid to Mulroney
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu, 09 Feb 2006 22:08:55 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 10th, 2006
Some Conservative MPs are not ruling out reopening an investigation following a CBC Fifth Estate report that revealed Brian Mulroney received money from an account linked to the Airbus controversy after he left office.
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Mulroney spokesman Luc Lavoie told Radio Canada the report is an exercise to smear the former prime minister's reputation and questioned CBC's motives.
Vic Toews, the new justice minister, was cautious about the report.
"I know absolutely nothing about that. I don't even know if those facts are correct," he said.
Karlheinz Schreiber, a central figure in the Airbus affair, claims he gave Mulroney $300,000 in cash over the course of three meetings because the former prime minister was cash-strapped after leaving office.
Schreiber told CBC the money came from a Swiss Bank account with the code name BRITAN. Documents show that account received money from a Liechtenstein company, called IAL or International Aircraft Leasing, that collected commissions from companies like Airbus and Thyssen, a German arms manufacturer.
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Former prime minister Brian Mulroney.
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There's no evidence Mulroney knew where the $300,000 came from but there are questions about his testimony under oath a decade ago that he never had dealings with Schreiber.
Conservative MP's say they don't know the facts, but some don't rule out reopening an investigation.
"I think the right authorities will be looking into it and I'll leave it at that," Alberta MP Myron Thompson said.
"I guess the best thing the Canadian people can ask for is a thorough and fulsome investigation of whatever new charges are brought, up," said Ontario MP Garth Turner, who ran to succeed Mulroney as party leader in 1993.
Interim Liberal Leader Bill Graham said the opposition will "press the solicitor general to ensure that justice is being done in this country in all cases, whether it's Mr. Mulroney or anybody else."
Schreiber was the focus of the so-called "Airbus affair," in which millions of dollars in secret commissions were paid in respect to the sale of the jets to Air Canada.
In 1995, the RCMP accused Mulroney of accepting kickbacks from Schreiber while Mulroney was in office for the purchase of a large order of Airbus jets.
Mulroney sued for libel, and under oath, denied any dealings with Schreiber.
Mulroney received a government apology and a $2 million settlement.
Written by CBC News Staff
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New questions raised over Mulroney's ties with German businessman
Web Posted | Last Updated Wed, 08 Feb 2006 21:59:22 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 9th, 2006
Former prime minister Brian Mulroney received $300,000 from a secret Swiss bank account after he left office because he was strapped for cash, German businessman Karlheinz Schreiber has told The Fifth Estate.
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A Fifth Estate investigation has revealed new details of the money trail between Mulroney and Schreiber, raising questions about whether the former prime minister misled Canadians about their relationship.
Mulroney received $300,000 from a secret Swiss bank account controlled by Schreiber, the German-Canadian businessman told The Fifth Estate in his first sit-down interview.
The payments, received from Schreiber in 1993 and 1994, came from a bank account in Zurich with the code name "Britan", Schreiber said.
"There were five hundred thousand sitting, and from there he got 300," Schreiber told The Fifth Estate's Linden MacIntyre.
There is no evidence Mulroney knew where the money was coming from.
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Former prime minister Brian Mulroney.
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Schreiber was the focus of the so-called "Airbus affair," in which millions of dollars in secret commissions were paid in respect to the sale of the jets to Air Canada.
In 1995, the RCMP accused Mulroney of accepting kickbacks from Schreiber while Mulroney was in office for the purchase of a large order of German Airbus jets.
Mulroney sued for libel, and under oath, denied any dealings with Schreiber.
Mulroney received a government apology and a $2-million settlement.
The Fifth Estate has learned the Britan account was activated a month after Mulroney stepped down as prime minister. The account, numbered 46341.5 received funds from another coded account owned by Schreiber called "Frankfurt."
That money, in turn, came from a Liechtenstein company, called IAL or International Aircraft Leasing. IAL held the proceeds of secret commission money from Airbus Industries, and received funds from German arms manufacturer Thyssen Industries connected to a planned, though never built, armoured vehicle factory in Cape Breton.
The Britan account was activated on July 26, 1993, when $500,000 was transferred to it from the Frankfurt account. The next day, $100,000 was withdrawn from it. A second $100,000 was taken from the account on Nov. 3, 1993.
On July 21, 1994, $50,000 was withdrawn from the Britan account. The last withdrawal from the account was also for $50,000 and came out on Nov. 21, 1994.
Schreiber said he gave Mulroney the money after being approached by former Mulroney chief of staff Fred Doucet. According to Schreiber, Doucet told him Mulroney was not financially well off and needed some help.
Schreiber said he hoped Mulroney would be useful in his continuing efforts to get an armoured vehicle factory built in Cape Breton for Thyssen. However, nothing ever came out of that, said Schreiber.
According to Schreiber, Mulroney only sent him a brochure from Archer Daniels Midland, a company which deals in wheat where the former prime minister was a director. Schreiber owned a pasta business.
In 1999, a spokesman for Mulroney denied any money was exchanged. But in 2003, Mulroney indirectly acknowledged he did receive money from Schreiber but as payment for his help in promoting Schreiber's pasta business.
Schreiber told The Fifth Estate that Mulroney did very little for the money.
"What had he done for the money?" Schreiber said. "Well, I learned to my great surprise that he worked with me on spaghetti."
Mulroney declined requests from The Fifth Estate to offer an explanation.
Schreiber is currently fighting extradition to Germany to face charges of fraud.
Written by CBC News Staff
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Tocchet faces gambling charges
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue, 07 Feb 2006 13:24:59 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 8th, 2006
Phoenix Coyotes assistant coach Rick Tocchet has been charged with financing a gambling ring in which current NHL players placed bets, police authorities said Tuesday.
The former NHL star was served with a criminal complaint Monday and is expected to travel from his Arizona home in order to answer charges of promoting gambling, money laundering and conspiracy, New Jersey state police Col. Rick Fuentes said.
Fuentes said the investigation, dubbed Operation Slap Shot, into the nationwide sports
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Coyotes assistant coach Rick Tocchet has been charged by police for financing a nationwide gambling ring.
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gambling ring run out of New Jersey unearthed the processing of more than 1,000 bets, in excess of $1.7 million US, on professional and college sports.
Fuentes declined to identify which of the half dozen NHL players made wagers, but did say none bet on hockey.
"Many of the (betting) ring's clientele included past and present professional athletes and celebrities who are being interviewed as part of the ongoing investigation," New Jersey state police said in a release.
But two law enforcement officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Associated Press that Wayne Gretzky's wife, Janet, was among those implicated.
Asked about her alleged involvement, Gretzky, head coach and co-owner of the Coyotes, replied: "Oh really? I don't know. You'd have to ask her that."
The gambling ring was tied to organized crime in Philadelphia and southern New Jersey, Fuentes said.
Tocchet said he would co-operate with the authorities.
"I feel bad for the Coyotes and stuff like that, but like I said, it's not a hockey-related issue and that's all I can comment," he told reporters after practice in Phoenix on Tuesday.
Gretzky said Tocchet would be behind the bench for Tuesday night's home game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
"Obviously we're concerned and obviously we feel bad," Gretzky told reporters.
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"Everyone in the world is innocent until proven guilty ..." he added. "He's a great guy and he's a good friend. He's just going through a tough time right now. Obviously we've got to let it run its course."
Even though the unnamed players did not bet on hockey games, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league "will monitor the proceedings closely."
The NHL has a "no betting on hockey" policy regarding gambling, a league spokesman said.
Authorities said the 41-year-old Tocchet and state police Trooper James J. Harney were partners in the gambling ring, but that Tocchet financed the operation.
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Wayne Gretzky answers reporters' questions Tuesday.
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Harney was arrested Monday and was charged with official misconduct, promoting gambling, money laundering and conspiracy. Another man accused of taking bets, James A. Ulmer, was charged with promoting gambling, money laundering and conspiracy.
Both men were free on bail and are expected to be arraigned within two weeks.
Tocchet took over Phoenix's head coaching duties for 10 days in December 2005 while Gretzky attended to personal matters following the death of his mother.
Tocchet led the club to two wins in five games in Gretzky's absence.
Best remembered for his days with the Philadelphia Flyers, Tocchet played with six teams over 22 NHL seasons, including three campaigns with the Coyotes from 1997-2000.
Tocchet, from Toronto, was drafted by Philadelphia in the sixth round (125th overall) of the 1983 NHL draft.
Tocchet and former New Jersey Devil Pat Verbeek are the only two players in NHL history to score 400 goals and collect 2,500 penalty minutes.
Written by CBC News Staff with files from Associated Press
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Woman gives birth in Toronto subway
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue, 07 Feb 2006 08:11:12 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 7th, 2006
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A woman gave birth to a healthy girl on a Toronto subway platform as rush-hour trains sped by.
Sun Hee Paik, her husband and three children boarded the subway on Monday after she went into labour at home. When she realized the baby was coming quickly, the 38-year-old and her family got off the train at Wellesley station and remained on the platform.
Over the public announcement system, officials had put the call out for a doctor or nurse.
Paik ended up giving birth to a six-pound, four-ounce baby. Commuters comforted the new mom, and wrapped the baby up to keep her warm.
"After she had it, she left the station at Wellesley, where she waited for an ambulance to come and take her to hospital," said Marilyn Bolton of the Toronto Transit Commission.
Officials at St. Michael's Hospital say both mom and her baby are doing fine.
TTC chairperson Howard Moscoe joked that Wellesley might be an appropriate name for the baby, but her parents have already called her Mary Kim.
In any case, Moscoe says he is going to try to get the baby a lifetime transit pass.
Written by CBC News Staff
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Tory cabinet expected to be smaller
Web Posted | Last Updated Mon, 06 Feb 2006 05:25:55 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 6th, 2006
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The new Conservative government that will be sworn in on Monday will have a smaller cabinet than Canadians were accustomed to under the Liberals.
Shortly after Stephen Harper becomes Canada's 22nd prime minister, his cabinet will be announced, and CBC News has been told there will be less than 30 ministers.
The last cabinet, under the Liberals, had 37.
Harper, who will become the first Conservative prime minister since 1993, led the Tories to a narrow victory over Paul Martin's Liberals in the Jan. 23 election.
Harper and his cabinet will be sworn in at Rideau Hall, Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean's official residence, at 11 a.m. EST, an hour after Martin gives Jean his formal resignation.
The swearing-in of cabinet will start after Harper presents Jean with his list of ministers. The procedure will end with an official picture just after noon.
There has been much speculation about Harper's choices for cabinet. Incoming prime ministers have to balance experience, talent, regional representation and political considerations.
On a swing through Quebec during the last week of the election campaign, Harper said he needed Lawrence Cannon, who won his Pontiac riding, in cabinet.
Harper is also expected to appoint at least three MPs from Atlantic Canada, including Peter MacKay and Loyola Hearn.
Among the Ontario MPs with provincial cabinet experience are John Baird, Tony Clement, and Jim Flaherty.
Clement's victory in the Ontario riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka was the closest race in the election. His win was confirmed by a judicial recount on Friday.
Harper will also have to choose among his large western contingent, many of whom are parliamentary veterans.
Written by CBC News Staff
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100,000 without power in Ontario
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun, 05 Feb 2006 11:07:10 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 5th, 2006
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The electricity distribution utility in Ontario is working on Sunday morning to restore service to about 100,000 people who are without power.
High winds and wet snow on Saturday knocked down trees, felling power lines in many communities in the western, southern and central regions of the province, Hydro One said.
"We've got our restoration process in full gear," Hydro One official Al Manchee said.
"We're pulling out all the stops."
Some people have been without power since 6 p.m. Saturday.
Lake Huron and Georgian Bay regions are without power. Disruptions are reported in Owen Sound, Parry Sound, Penetanguishene and parts of London.
More than 50,000 people in southwestern B.C. lost power on Saturday after a windstorm knocked down lines and sent sea water pouring into homes.
Written by CBC News Staff
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Embassies set ablaze over caricature
Web Posted | Last Updated Sat, 04 Feb 2006 11:05:45 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 4th, 2006
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Protests over editorial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed turned violent Saturday in the Syrian capital as demonstrators set fire to the Danish, Chilean and Swedish embassies.
Hundreds of people in Damascus stormed the building, which houses all three embassies, to denounce the satirical depictions of the Prophet that appeared in a Danish newspaper.
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The protesters also threw stones at the building, shattering its windows, the Reuters news agency reported.
Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the demonstrators, who then moved on to the Norwegian Embassy, broke through police barriers and set fire to the building.
It's not clear if anyone inside the embassies was hurt.
Islamic law, based on clerics' interpretation of the Qu'ran, forbids any depictions of Islam's
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Firefighters try to put out flames after demonstrators stormed the Danish Embassy in Damascus and set fire to it.
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holiest figure to prevent idolatry.
The cartoons were originally published in Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten in September, but publications in Norway, France and Germany have since reprinted some of them to show solidarity over freedom of speech issues.
The Danish newspaper published an apology for the cartoons on Jan. 30. The drawings "were not intended to be offensive, nor were they at variance with Danish law, but they have indisputably offended many Muslims for which we apologize," the daily said.
Three of the 12 drawings were reprinted in a Jordanian newspaper on Thursday, alongside an editorial questioning whether the angry reaction to them in the Muslim world was justified.
The editor who wrote the editorial, Jihad Momani, was fired on Friday and, despite a letter of apology, arrested Saturday on charges of blasphemy, according to Jordan's state prosecutor.
The cartoons, including one depicting Muhammad with a turban-shaped bomb on his head, have sparked protests across the Middle East.
In Gaza City, some 400 demonstrators hurled stones at a European Commission building and stormed a German cultural centre, smashing windows and doors. Riot police were brought in to disperse the crowds.
Written by CBC News Staff
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Ship sinks in Red Sea with 1,300 aboard
Web Posted | Last Updated Fri, 03 Feb 2006 08:36:53 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 3rd, 2006
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Dozens of bodies have been recovered and 12 survivors rescued after a ship carrying 1,300 people sank in the Red Sea overnight.
Search and rescue crews have spotted an unknown number of bodies in the water near where the Egyptian ship al-Salam Boccaccio 98 disappeared from radar shortly after leaving port in western Saudi Arabia.
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"We have spotted several lifeboats with live passengers that we are trying to get to," Ayman al-Kaffas, a spokesman for the Egyptian Embassy, told the BBC. "It's a challenging operation due to the bad weather conditions."
Saudi Arabia's west coast had high winds and a sandstorm overnight.
There were 1,318 people on the ship, including a crew of 96.
Mahfouz Taha Marzouk, head of the Egyptian Maritime Authority, said the ship sank about 64 kilometres off the Egyptian port of Hurghada.
There was no indication that the crew had called for help.
The Salaam 98 left the port of Dubah, in western Saudi Arabia, at 7 p.m. local time on Thursday night.
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A scene from St. John's, Nfld., Thursday.
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It stopped showing up on radar screen shortly after, and didn't arrive on schedule at Egypt's southern port of Safaga, about 190 kilometres from Dubah, at 3 a.m. local time.
Egypt's minister of transport, Mohammed Lutfy Mansour, told CNN that four Egyptian frigates had been sent to rescue survivors.
Britain has diverted one of its warships, HMS Bulwark, to the area.
Mansour said the 35-year-old ship met safety requirements and that the number of passengers on board was fewer than the maximum allowed.
The ship's last known position was 100 kilometres from Dubah.
The ship is owned by the Egyptian company El-Salaam Maritime Transport Co.
The passengers on board are thought mostly to have been Egyptian men returning home from working in Saudi Arabia, but could also include pilgrims returning from the annual hajj to Mecca, which ended last month.
A ship owned by the same company collided in October with a cargo ship at the southern entrance to the Suez Canal. Two people were killed and 40 injured as the passengers stampeded to escape.
Written by CBC News Staff
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Blizzard lingers in Newfoundland
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu, 02 Feb 2006 08:36:53 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 2nd, 2006
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The blizzard that won't go away has shut down schools and public services in eastern Newfoundland for a second day as Atlantic Canada digs out from the storm.
More than 40 centimetres of snow have fallen in parts of the Avalon Peninsula, with an additional five to 10 centimetres expected on Thursday.
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Some easterners, however, have refused to let the treacherous conditions take over their lives.
In Sydney, N.S., Vince Corsara and his friend could be seen cruising the downtown area on a snowmobile.
"We were out a few times in the first snowstorm, but it wasn't the best," said Corsaro. "But now, all this snow here, this is great."
Bar owner Berkley Haddad said he has kept the parking lot of his sports bar in Sydney clear for customers who refuse to let the snow make them shut-ins.
"A lot of people don't like getting locked up, cooped up, and they have a four-wheel-drive and they got big trucks," said Haddad.
Winds in some areas of the region reached 120 kilometres per hour on Wednesday and remain strong.
Several flights at St. John's International Airport were cancelled or postponed early on
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A scene from St. John's, Nfld., Thursday.
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Thursday, while schools, government offices and many businesses remain closed.
The Newfoundland Transportation Department is advising motorists that highways are snow-covered and difficult to travel.
In Nova Scotia, the storm has dumped 43 cm on Sydney and 27 cm in the Halifax area, shutting schools and businesses, and delaying or cancelling flights at the Halifax International Airport.
Police on Cape Breton Island warn many roads remain snow-covered and are urging motorists to stay home.
High winds and driving snow caused power outages around the province on Wednesday. People in the coastal community of Canso gathered around generators at the town's fire hall after losing electricity for 20 hours.
Prince Edward Island's capital, Charlottetown, reported 23 cm of snow, with winds of up to 90 km/h.
Written by CBC News Staff
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U.S. troops shoot Canadian car in Baghdad
Web Posted | Last Updated Wed, 01 Feb 2006 04:50:58 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Feb 1st, 2006
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The Canadian chargé d'affaires to Iraq and three other Canadian diplomats riding in a consular vehicle were shot at by American soldiers in Iraq on Tuesday, the U.S. military says.
"The Canadian ambassador's vehicle did sustain damage (Tuesday) from U.S. military gunfire," said the statement released overnight.
There were no injuries.
Troops fired warning shots at the Canadian envoy's car after it failed to slow down when approaching a U.S. military convoy, it said.
The car had been travelling through the Iraqi capital's heavily fortified Green Zone, site of the Iraqi government and the U.S. military's headquarters.
A spokeswoman at the Canadian Embassy in Jordan told the Associated Press that four Canadian diplomats were in the vehicle.
Other reports suggested Canada's ambassador to Jordan, John Holmes, might have been in the car. Canada has no embassy in Iraq and diplomatic officials regularly travel to Iraq from Jordan.
Holmes serves as ambassador to both Iraq and Jordan, and is based in the Jordanian capital Amman.
"The rear guard on a U.S. convoy signalled the vehicle to stay back," Holmes said. "After it failed to do so and continued moving toward the convoy from behind, warning shots were aimed at the front of the vehicle, away from the passenger area."
The car was apparently not marked as Canadian.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said the American soldiers feared they were dealing with a suicide bomber and fired at the vehicle's engine block.
One round apparently pierced the passenger side of the car.
"The incident is under review to determine why it was necessary to fire warning shots," the military statement said.
Written by CBC News Staff
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