Prime Minister Stephen Harper waltzed through his first interview gig on YouTube on Tuesday and along the way he gave a thumbs-up to the seal hunt and the crackdown on "guns, gangs and drugs" and a firm thumbs-down to legalizing pot.
"The reason drugs are illegal is because they are bad," Mr. Harper said. "And even if these things were legalized, I can predict with a lot of confidence that these would never be respectable businesses run by respectable people."
Canadian Patrick Pichette, Google's bilingual chief financial officer, conducted the interview, and made a point of saying the question about marijuana, which he asked last, won the most votes from those who participated in the YouTube challenge.
"Well, it's a good question," Mr. Harper responded.
The 40-minute interview broke no new policy ground for the prime minister, who appeared relaxed as he gave long, uninterrupted answers to questions posed by Canadians and relayed by video or by Mr. Pichette.
The only hitch was that the interview, taped earlier Tuesday, was posted more than an hour later than was scheduled. A Google official later blamed technical problems for the delay, the problems in uploading an interview that was twice as long as expected.
The questions were straightforward and pressed Mr. Harper on such current hot topics as the $56-billion budget deficit and his government's current handling of the Afghan detainee issue.
Someone identified as B. Jonte of Waterloo, Ontario, asked Mr. Harper why the government was not more open on the Afghan prisoner issue and why it always responds to "legitimate" questions about the issue with "'support our troops' and look the other way."
Mr. Harper said he disagreed with the premise of the question and said that it's important to state there is no evidence Canadian soldiers have done anything wrong. He pointed to his appointment of Frank Iacobucci, a former Supreme Court justice, to review the contents of still secret documents to decide what can be released as proof of his openness on the issue.
Mr. Harper flatly rejected a questioner's appeal to cancel the 2010 commercial seal hunt, saying there is "no danger" of the seal population disappearing and that his government would continue to "vigorously defend our sealers" in the face of domestic and international criticism.
"There is no scientific evidence that says the seal population is in jeopardy," he said.
On mandatory sentencing, he said that although he didn't think crime was out of control in the country, there are "worrying growth areas, particularly if you look at the areas of guns, gangs and drugs, and this is a growth area, not just in Canada, but around the world."
Mr. Harper's YouTube appearance was a clear bid to try to connect with an audience that considers YouTube part of its daily online diet, which is sad for those who visit YouTube on a regular basis. The Prime Minister's Office described the move as a chance for "Canadians to have unfiltered and immediate access to information."
The interview was taped at Rideau Gate, the Government of Canada's elegant guest house situated across the street from the prime minister's Sussex Drive residence.
Google spokeswoman Wendy Rozeluk said that the tape was unedited, and that there was no vetting of the questions by the Prime Minister's Office.
However, Mr. Harper did not go into the interview blind. He and his staff, like anybody else with access to the Internet, were able to tap into YouTube's Talk Canada site to read the questions in advance to quickly ascertain the most popular subjects.
Mr. Harper's appearance was the finale of an arrangement made by the PMO and Google, which owns YouTube, to carry a live feed of the speech the prime minister gave in the House of Commons last Thursday in response to his government's throne speech.
U.S. President Barack Obama engaged in a similar YouTube event last month after his State of the Union address.
YouTube users were encouraged to post their questions for Mr. Harper, with a promise the most popular questions would be asked at the virtual town hall on Tuesday night.
By the time voting was cut off on Sunday afternoon, a total of 5,128 people had cast 170,000 votes on 1,797 questions, according to the tally posted on YouTube's Talk Canada site.
A Conservative member of the Ontario legislature says that Toronto should form its own province because communities outside the metropolis are not being heard.
Bill Murdoch, who represents the riding of Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, says the idea came to him at an agriculture meeting where recurring complaints brought him to the conclusion "we're never going to change this as long as we have a Toronto-driven government running Ontario."
The "straw that broke the camel's back" is the current spread of coyotes in his parts of the province, he said, a matter locals would like to settle by placing a bounty on them.
"They'll never let you do that in Toronto," he said.
He says the sheer size of the city, and its voting power, means that Queen's Park is more likely to cater to Toronto's every whim.
Murdoch admits the goal has little to no chance of success, but says the suggestion would at least launch a debate.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty boasted about Canada's relative fiscal strength Tuesday as Britain and other members of the European Union face intense political divisions and social unrest over massive debt problems.
Mr. Flaherty, who is on the second leg of a two-day trip that began in New York, said Canada is on track to balance its budget, while also enjoying renewed business confidence and consumer demand and has the world's strongest and best-regulated banking system.
"Our nation fully intends to build on that crisis-tested advantage," he told the Canada-United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce.
He acknowledged there has been "upward pressure" on the Canadian dollar, which closed near parity Tuesday at 98.62 U.S. cents, its highest finish since July 25, 2008.
But Mr. Flaherty, who along with Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney warned only months ago of the dangers of a high-flying currency, seemed more sanguine about it on Tuesday.
"Canada's relatively strong fiscal position is assisting the rise of the dollar," he said.
The Government of Canada, he said, is "not worried, but watchful," with regard to real estate prices, Mr. Flaherty told a business audience, noting his recent decision to toughen requirements for government-insured mortgages.
"One has to watch this to make sure that one does not have borrowers who cannot afford higher interest rates, because as we all know interest rates are historically low and they have nowhere to go but up."
Nevertheless, Mr. Flaherty, who acknowledged less flattering statistics such as the 8.2% unemployment rate, said the Canadian and global economies remain vulnerable due to the huge indebtedness of many countries, particularly the U.S. economy.
"I think we're all concerned about... the size of the U.S. deficit," he said, citing the economy's dependence on Canada-U.S. Trade.
He also noted concern about massive debt problems in a number of European countries, including Greece.
"We look forward to other developed nations of the world showing their plans to move out of deficit, towards balanced budgets over time," he said.
"That is necessary for the firm restoration of confidence in developed countries, that we all have a plan to exit from the stimulus" spending programs launched after the global crisis broke out in the autumn of 2008.
While Canada's $53.8-billion federal deficit sounds huge, it represents 3.5% of the country's gross domestic product, and less than a third of the current U.S. and British deficit-to-GDP ratios.
Mr. Flaherty's budget, released March 4, announced reductions in planned spending that the finance minister said would bring the deficit down to $1.8 billion by 2014-15.
Kevin Page, Canada's independent parliamentary budget officer, has labelled Mr. Flaherty's projections too optimistic, and has projected the deficit will be down to just $12.3 billion by 2014-15.
But that higher figure would still represent just 0.6% of Canada's projected GDP.
Honda Canada announced Tuesday that it will recall thousands of vehicles after fielding owner complaints involving brake pedals. The recall involves 24,680 Odyssey and 4,137 Element vehicles in Canada from the 2007-2008 model years. The company plans to modify the vehicle stability assist modulator, which is connected to the ABS braking system.
The announcement in Canada coincides with a recall of more than 400,000 vehicles in the United States involving similar models.
Honda said the complaints reported that the brakes felt "soft" or "gradually exhibit a pedal height that gets lower (closer to the floor) before the vehicle stops." In vehicles reporting this, the condition increased over time.
"It's not something that suddenly happened" but occurred over time as customers reported "my brake pedal feels funny," Richard Jacobs of Honda Canada Inc., said Tuesday.
No confirmed accidents were reported in Canada as a result of the brake pedal concern, but some have been reported in the United States.
"There have been a few accidents and several minor injuries (in the U.S.)," said Jacobs. "But it's mostly been just from consumer concern over the feel of the pedal; it seems to be a little more 'spongy.'"
Honda said some modulators could allow small quantities of air in, which over time, could accumulate and result in the "soft brake pedal" or "low brake pedal" being reported by customers. The fix will remove air from the units and seal it so as to prevent it from coming in, something Jacobs described as "a very quick in-and-out procedure."
Honda said not all recalled models reported these issues, but the company was recalling all units to "assure all customers that their vehicles will perform correctly." The company plans to notify customers beginning at the end of April, so can they bring their vehicles in to Honda dealers.
Jacobs said people concerned with their vehicle's current performance would be asked to bring them in immediately.
"There are things we can do right now but there's a specific process that will be ready," in the next few weeks, he said.
The recall was announced as the chief executive of competitor Toyota Canada was expressing regret at the "anxiety and inconvenience" that the company's recent recalls have caused its Canadian customers.
"Over the past few months, many Canadians have wondered whether Toyota vehicles are safe, and we regret that this has caused our customers both anxiety and inconvenience," Toyota Canada CEO Yoichi Tomihara told the House of Commons transport committee.
Toyota Canada executives were summoned to testify before the committee to explain why the company has been forced to recall millions of vehicles worldwide.
Toyota has recalled more than eight million of its vehicles since November 2009 because of instances of unintended acceleration.
Canadian movie pirates were put on notice yesterday after a Montreal DVD bootlegger pointed out by the FBI was sentenced to two-and-a-half months in prison.
Geremi Adam, who is 27 years old, is the first Canadian to be convicted under a new Criminal Code provision that bars the illegal videotaping of a film in a commercial movie theatre.
Quebec Court judge Claude Parent ordered the guy to serve an additional seven days in jail before release as he has been in custody since January 12 while awaiting sentencing.
During his trial, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the FBI pointed to Adam as the main movie pirate in Montreal, which is a hotbed for bootleg DVD making owing to the city's two main languages, French and English.
Canadian film distributors and exhibitors applauded the conviction and sentencing under new changes to the federal Copyright Act, which bars the unauthorized recording of movies in local theatres for personal or commercial use.
"Film theft costs jobs and affects thousands of Canadians who make their livelihoods in the movie business or in related industries," Patrick Roy, president and CEO of Montreal-based distributor Alliance Vivafilm, said after Adam was sentenced
Ellis Jacob, president and CEO of Cineplex Entertainment, Canada's largest movie chain, added: "We hope that today's judgment will provide a further deterrent to would-be criminals that illegally recording a movie in a theatre can result in jail time."
Jacob in 2007 came under fire from Twentieth Century Fox, as his own chain and other Canadian movie theatres, especially in Montreal, were cited as a major source of illegal recording of Hollywood movies.
With movie piracy suddenly a hot button issue, the Government of Canada soon after introduced and eventually passed anti-pirating legislation to put local DVD bootleggers out of business.
What do you do when you are in a romantic situation with your boyfriend/girlfriend? Well, typically, you would kiss. And here in Canada, there's no law against kissing in public, or is there? Well, we won't go into that, because it's Canada.
But, in Dubai, things are different. A British couple in Dubai that was caught kissing in public may be going to prison over their romance--for up to a month. Why? Well, it's all because an Emirati woman/mother complained that her child saw them kissing and had seen their "indiscretion."
The couple, a British man living in Dubai and a female friend, were arrested in November on accusations of kissing and touching each other intimately in public and consuming alcohol, their lawyer said. They were ordered to be imprisoned for a month.
The case is the third time in less than two years in which British couples have hit the headlines by falling foul of decency laws in Dubai, a flashy Muslim emirate popular with sun-seeking Western tourists and expatriates.
A lawyer for the potentially-cute couple that launched an appeal on Sunday said that there had been no inappropriate kissing and the two were just friends. A verdict in the appeal is expected on April 4, 2010.
"There was no lip kissing. It was just a normal greeting that is not considered offensive," lawyer Khalaf al-Hosani told the court, adding the complainant's testimony was contradictory.
The British man's mother in London said her son, Ayman Najafi, had vowed to clear his name.
"My Ayman is a good boy He's very wise and mature. I can't believe it," his mother Maida Najafi was quoted as saying in The Independent. "He knows the rules over there. He would never do that. He wouldn't even do it over here."
The couple, who are free on bail, were also fined 1,000 dirham ($272) for illegal consumption of alcohol, the lawyer said. They are to be deported after the completion of their jail sentence. Wow, you kiss someone and you go to prison, and eventually get deported.
Dubai's foreign population has expanded rapidly in recent years as expatriates flocked to the Gulf Arab trade and tourism hub for its tax-free earnings and year-round sunshine.
The changes have challenged the Emirati population, which is now vastly outnumbered by foreigners, raising concern that their emirate's rapid pace of growth is a threat to their social and religious identity in what remains a deeply conservative region.
In a high-profile case in 2008, a British couple narrowly escaped jail after a court found them guilty of engaging in drunken sexual activity out of wedlock, and for doing so in public on a beach in the emirate. They were sentenced to three months in prison followed by deportation, but had their jail terms overturned on appeal.
In a separate case this year, a British couple who shared a hotel room managed to escape trial in Dubai for having sex out of wedlock by producing a marriage certificate. A British embassy spokesman said it could confirm that a British national was arrested in November and the mission had provided consular assistance, but gave no further details.
Sony and the estate of late music legend Michael Jackson have signed a record-breaking 250-million-dollar deal for distribution rights through 2017, U.S. media said Tuesday.
The blockbuster deal involving as many as 10 new Jackson projects may include computer videogames as well as music and film releases, the Los Angeles Times said.
"The audio rights span across different projects," said Rob Stringer, chairman of the U.S. label Columbia Epic, a division of Sony, reported the Times. "There may be theater. There may be films and movies. There may be computer games -- or multimedia platforms that I don't know about today that will happen in 2015."
Described by Sony and Jackson's estate as the most lucrative music contract on record, the deal would guarantee the late singer's heirs at least 200 million dollars, the Wall Street Journal said. The deal would go a long way to easing burdens left behind by Jackson, whose lavish lifestyle and spending sprees marked up hundreds of millions of dollars of debt.
After his death, a Los Angeles court named Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, 79, guardian of his three children, Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11 and Prince Michael II, 7, as well as of his estate, which includes his Neverland ranch and rights he held to songs by The Beatles.
Sony's contract "exceeds all previous industry benchmarks," entertainment lawyer John Branca, one of the estate's executors, told the New York Times. The closest comparable contracts would be rapper Jay-Z's 2008 accord with Live Nation worth 150 million dollars for recordings and concerts.
Since his death on June 25 last year, Sony has sold some 31 million Jackson albums worldwide and his estate, by the first anniversary of his death, is expected to have made 250 million dollars from the sale of music, merchandise and tickets to the posthumous concert movie "This Is It," the Journal said. Jackson died at his rented mansion in Los Angeles after an overdose of powerful prescription drugs, as he was preparing to perform a series of comeback concerts in London.
The star's doctor Conrad Murray last month pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in connection with the sudden death, but has admitted administering the drugs to the singer. The first recording under the new contract, according to the New York Times, will be the soundtrack for "This Is It" -- which showed Jackson rehearsing his comeback concerts in the weeks leading up to his death -- and by November a new album of unreleased recordings.
Branca said his co-executor on the estate John McClain is already working on selecting the unreleased material.
"They've got over 60 unreleased recordings that they're choosing from," Branca said he was told by McClain, according to the LA Times. "The first album will have around 10. There's some very recent stuff and vintage stuff that deserves to be shared with Michael's fans."
Branca also noted that the other high-earning careers held by dead music legends indicated the value of Jackson's brand.
"If you look at Elvis and the Beatles, and how their brands are thriving, they only hint at what the future holds for Michael," Branca said.
In October, Forbes Magazine named Jackson as number three in its annual Top-Earning Dead Celebrities list, earning 90 million dollars in the months after his death.
Fashion legend Yves Saint Laurent topped the list with 350 million dollars in posthumous earnings, while Elvis Presley came just behind Jackson with 55 million dollars.
Marijuana activist Marc Emery's battle to avoid going to a U.S. prison got a boost this week in the House of Commons for some apparent reason.
Three MPs -- Libby Davies of the New Democratic Party, Ujjal Dosanjh of the Liberals and Scott Reid of the Conservatives, presented a petition asking Justice Minister Rob Nicholson not to sign extradition papers that would send Emery south to serve a five-year sentence for selling marijuana seeds online in 2005.
More than 12,000 Canadians signed the petition.
"In Vancouver, everywhere I go, people make a point of expressing good wishes that I don't get extradited," Emery said Monday.
His removal order has been sitting on the justice minister's desk since January 8, 2010.
"Nine weeks have passed and he hasn't made that decision, so something is keeping him from doing it," said Emery, who noted the Conservatives could score political points, especially with young voters, if his extradition is halted.
All three MPs told the Commons that Emery's extradition smacks of unfairness.
Canadian courts have established a person convicted of selling marijuana seeds should face a fine of $200. In the U.S., a person could be sentenced to life in prison for the same crime.
Emery, 52, and two employees were arrested in 2005 by Canadian police acting as agents for the U.S. department of justice. He is not facing a charge in Canada.
Reid, an Ontario MP, told the Commons that the Extradition Act states the justice minister "shall refuse to surrender a person when that surrender could involve unjust or undue or oppressive actions by the country to which he is being extradited."
Davies, the MP for Vancouver East, said she has found broad support for Emery.
"People don't understand why Marc Emery should be extradited. He was never prosecuted in Canada for these crimes, and I think people see it as a question of Canadian sovereignty," she said.
Dosanjh, MP for Vancouver South, said: "It appears to me that we have assisted a foreign government arrest a man for doing something that we wouldn't arrest him for doing in Canada."
"As a former premier and a former attorney-general, I sense a certain degree of unfairness in the process."
Congressional Democrats took the first step on Monday toward a quick final vote on a healthcare overhaul and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed to muster the votes needed to pass it.
With a close vote expected later this week, House Democrats hustled to line up support and President Barack Obama hit the road in Ohio to push his case for a sweeping overhaul of the $2.5 trillion healthcare system.
Republican opponents promised to make Democrats who support the healthcare bill pay in November's congressional elections, when Democratic control of Congress could be threatened by political fallout over the issue.
But Democratic leaders counselled nervous lawmakers to hold firm and pass the bill, which has been the focus of a political battle that has mired the Congress in legislative gridlock for nine months.
"We need courage," Obama told a crowd in Strongsville, Ohio, during his third road trip in the past week to rally support for his top legislative priority. "This debate is about far more than politics."
The House Budget Committee began the drive toward a final vote, advancing changes sought by House Democrats and Obama to the Senate-passed healthcare bill. Democrats Chet Edwards and Allen Boyd, who opposed the House-passed bill in November, broke with their party on the largely party-line 21-16 vote.
House Democratic vote-counters say they are still short of the votes necessary to pass the overhaul but Pelosi was confident they will hit the magic number by week's end.
"When we bring the bill to the floor, we will have the votes," Pelosi told reporters.
The overhaul would constitute the most dramatic changes to the healthcare system in more than four decades, extending coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans and banning insurance practices like refusing coverage to those with pre-existing medical conditions.
Health insurer shares were mixed on Monday as the broader market was little changed. The Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payor index was up 0.2% and the S&P Managed Health Care index dropped 1.1%.
Obama also maintained the upbeat tone put forth by the White House during the weekend, telling ABC News: "I believe we are going to get the votes. We're going to make this happen."
Republicans condemn the health bill as a costly government takeover that would lead to higher insurance premiums and less consumer choice. They plan to launch a series of television ads against House Democrats who support the overhaul.
Wow, attack ads... not surprising.
"If there's one thing the American people didn't want, it was for us to make healthcare more bureaucratic and expensive," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and House Republican leader John Boehner said in a joint commentary in The Wall Street Journal.
Democrats are waiting for final cost estimates from the Congressional Budget Office and more advice from the Senate parliamentarian before unveiling a final package and deciding the exact process for passing it. In a two-step procedure, House Democrats want to approve the Senate's version of the bill and make changes sought by Obama and House Democrats through a separate measure passed under budget reconciliation rules.
Those rules require only a simple majority in the 100-member Senate, bypassing the need for 60 votes to overcome Republican procedural hurdles.
Pelosi said it was undecided whether the House would take a direct vote on the Senate-passed bill or include it in a separate vote on the reconciliation package. The House Rules Committee will meet on Thursday to determine the process.
House Democratic leaders met in Pelosi's office on Monday to discuss their options but announced no final decisions. "When we have the substance then we will decide on the process," Pelosi said.
The changes in the reconciliation bill include expanding subsidies to make insurance more affordable and extending more state aid for the Medicaid program for the poor.
They also would eliminate a controversial Senate deal exempting Nebraska from paying for Medicaid expansion costs, close a "doughnut hole" in prescription drug coverage for seniors and water down a tax on high-cost insurance plans.
Republicans want Democrats to vote directly on the Senate bill, which includes unpopular provisions like the Nebraska Medicaid deal, so they can use the vote against them in November.
"To resort to these kinds of tactics to deal with this is just plain wrong," Representative David Dreier, the senior Republican on the House Rules Committee, told reporters.
Now that mixed tapes have disappeared from today's lexicon, it's time consumers cough up a little cash for a private copying levy for iPods and other MP3 players, according to a private member's bill tabled in the House of Commons Tuesday.
The Government of Canada, when run by the Liberals, first introduced private copying provisions in Canada's Copyright Act in 1997 so musicians could be compensated when consumers purchased blank tapes or compact discs to make mixed tapes or CDs.
The levy, set by an independent board, is charged to manufacturers and importers and passed on to retailers and consumers. The money is then distributed to musicians and other copyright holders.
Charlie Angus, the NDP's digital affairs critic who is also a musician, coincidentally, says it's time the copyright law is updated so the levy is extended to the next generation of devices that consumers using for copying music for personal use.
"Digital locks and suing fans are not going to prevent people from copying music from one format to another," he said. "The levy is a solution that works. By updating it, we will ensure that artists are getting paid for their work, and that consumers aren't criminalized for moving their legally-obtained music from one format to another."
Angus' proposed amendments to copyright act also include a "fair dealing" to permit the reasonable use of copyrighted materials in some circumstances. This would expand the exemption to non-commercial copyright infringements for researchers, innovators, educators and artists when copyrighted material is used appropriately.
The move on Tuesday by the NDP copyright critic is a direct challenge to the Conservative government, as the Conservative government is expected to introduce a copyright reform package in the current session Parliament.
City councillors were united Monday in support of adding $1.5 million to the snow removal budget, including a new policy to clear residential streets when they become badly rutted.
But a proposal to give city crews the ability to clear snow part way onto sidewalks to free up room for parking on residential streets was widely criticized. Now, the question turns to how willing council will be to support the increase early next month in the face of operating budget pressures stemming from city growth.
Councillors approved the new spending during an executive committee meeting, sending the matter to an April budget meeting for final approval.
"I think it's obvious that council needs to be focusing more priorities on snow removal," said Councillor Tiffany Paulsen. "People are frustrated when you pay significant property taxes and they don't see a snow-plow down their street even once a year."
The additional cash for the city's snow and ice budget, which would put it above the $7-million mark for the first time, was pitched as part of a series of changes to policy after criticism flowed in following a January storm. The city needs a separate policy for dealing with rare storms that drop 15 centimetres of snow or more on the city, public works manager Wade Gasmo said.
The major change would be in how the city handles residential streets. Now, city crews only clear residential streets as needed after priority streets are cleared, but many residents complained in January of deep ruts and drifts, making it difficult to get around.
If the extra money is approved, residential streets would be cleared when ruts of greater than 10 cm appear either after a major storm or as that amount of snow accumulates over time. The city's administration also pitched a change that would give crews the ability to store snow on a one-foot width of sidewalk as long as two feet of sidewalk remains clear.
The idea, which mimics a Regina policy, was to give crews a place to pile the snow because of complaints from drivers that snow windrows were blocking parking, said acting infrastructure service manager Mike Gutek.
But councillors were cold to the idea of allowing snow storage on sidewalks, with some wondering how crews would ensure a portion of the sidewalk remains clear of snow.
"Is somebody taking a ruler out there?" said Paulsen. "I think it's a bad, bad idea."
"The message in there was pretty clear," Gutek said after the meeting. "The pedestrians get everything and don't worry about the parking on the street."
Councillor Charlie Clark also requested the city's administration report back at budget time on how to improve sidewalk clearing after the city was delayed in responding to and enforcing complaints following the last storm.
"I can see within a week we're not going to be able to respond, but within a month?" Clark said.
So, the question is: what do we get for $1.5 million more in snow removal? Well, here's what you get:
Residential streets cleared when 10 cm ruts appear.
Residential streets cleared two to four weeks after storms.
The world's shortest man has died in Italy, where he was to take part in a TV show, the program's production company said Tuesday.
He Pingping, of China, who was 2'5.37" inches (74.6 centimetres) tall, had become a recognized figure across the world, often taking part in shows, photo shoots and other events, Guinness World Records said.
Craig Glenday, the Guinness World Records editor-in-chief, said that He was "an inspiration to anyone considered different or unusual" and "showed us that, despite the challenges we face, we can still make the most out of life."
He died Saturday in Rome, according to the TV production company Europroduzione.
Guinness World Records said in a press release He was born in 1988 with a form of primordial dwarfism. He was officially measured in March 2008.
He was taken to a hospital March 3 after he fell ill while rehearsing the Italian program The Record Show, Marco Fernandez de Araoz of Europroduzione said.
After two days, He was transferred to intensive care, where he was found to have a heart condition and high cholesterol, said Fernandez de Araoz. He said the hospital, where he died, has so far given as his cause of death the heart condition.
The man's body will be flown to China soon once the paperwork is ready, Fernandez de Araoz said.
Donna Simpson, who is 42 years old and lives in Old Bridge, New Jersey, already tips the scales at 600 pounds but says she won't be satisfied until she's gained enough weight for herself to weigh 1,000 pounds, to grab the title of world's fattest woman, the London Daily Mail reported.
That's why she's gone on a junk-food-eating-spree. However, Simpson has given herself two years to hit the millennium mark. She earns her chow bucks, a whopping $750 a week, with a website where men pay her to watch her eat fast food.
"I love eating and people love watching me eat," Simpson said. "It makes people happy, and I'm not harming anyone."
Sure, she's not harming anyone but herself.
"I do love cakes and sweet things. Doughnuts are my favourite," she said. She's also fond of burgers and fries - an important part of her 12,000-calorie-a-day diet - and carefully avoids exercise.
Simpson already holds the Guinness World Record as the fattest mom, 532 pounds when she gave birth in 2007. She says her boyfriend Philippe, 49, eggs her on.
"I think he'd like it if I was bigger. He's a real belly man."
The chief executive of Toyota Canada on Tuesday expressed regret at the "anxiety and inconvenience" that the company's recent recalls has caused its Canadian customers.
"Over the past few months, many Canadians have wondered whether Toyota vehicles are safe, and we regret that this has caused our customers both anxiety and inconvenience," Toyota Canada CEO Yoichi Tomihara told the House of Commons transport committee.
Toyota Canada executives were summoned to testify before the committee to explain why the company has been forced to recall millions of vehicles in worldwide.
"Nothing is more important to Toyota than the safety and reliability of our products to our customers," said Toyota North America president Yoshi Inaba.
Stephen Beatty, a managing director with Toyota Canada, noted that the company decided to recall vehicles here, despite the fact that all-weather floor mats that caused problems with accelerators in the United States have a different design in Canada.
"In a perfect world, there would be no recalls, and that is always our goal. But we also know we cannot assume a perfect world," said Beatty, noting that Toyota's parent company has developed a six-point global plan to renew its focus on quality since the recalls.
However, Liberal MP Joe Volpe suggested the company had skirted a dangerous line in the pursuit of profits.
Taking Saskatoon Transit is relatively easy, right? Well, with Phone&Go, some services are limited, and with Click&Go, it's slow, and you're better off knowing the addresses of where you would like to go, since not every business is listed on there. Of course, it would be easier to use the service in conjunction with Google Maps or something like that.
Well, soon, Google Maps will be launching a 'public transit' feature when you are viewing maps in Saskatoon through the service. So, let's just say you were at the Real Canadian Superstore located at 2901 8th Street East and wanted to travel by bus to the Real Canadian Superstore on Confederation Drive. Well, you would simply choose the two stores on Click&Go, which is slow. But starting in June, that will be a lot more simple, as you can do it all on Google Maps.
The service is called Google Transit, and will launch in late June, according to Google, although no firm date has been confirmed.
Transit planner Kevin Sturgeon says that even when Google Transit launches, Click&Go will continue to run though.
It would be easier to get transit information on Google Maps, as virtually all businesses and residences in Saskatoon are on Google Maps.
There are currently ten Canadian cities that are under the service, including Calgary Transit, which also uses the same software as Click&Go for their Trip Planning feature. Their trip-planning feature is located at http://tripplanning.calgarytransit.com.
Calling it "a good day for victims of crime," Saskatchewan's justice minister applauded a court decision ordering killer-turned-author Colin Thatcher to turn over the profits of his book Final Appeal: Anatomy of a Frame.
In a decision released Monday, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Ted Zarzeczny upheld the provincial Profits of Criminal Notoriety Act. The law allows the government to seize any profits from those convicted of certain serious crimes who "directly or indirectly" recount their offences for profit.
"Victims of crime should be able to take some comfort knowing that people will not profit as a result of these things," Justice Minister Don Morgan told reporters.
Neither Thatcher nor a spokesman for ECW Press Ltd., his Toronto-based book publisher, could be reached for comment. Thatcher had argued the law was unconstitutional, impacting his free speech rights, and that his book didn't fit within the law's scope. Zarzeczny disagreed.
The Government of Saskatchewan had initially resisted enacting such a law last year before abruptly reversing itself. In the words of Zarzeczny, "Word of the proposed publication of such a book prompted a public and political uproar." When the government passed the act on May 14 last year, it was made retroactive to June 1, 2007 to encompass Thatcher's book, released last September.
"This is something we introduced on a very quick basis as you are aware. So we are pleased it was upheld," Morgan said.
Thatcher, who exhausted every legal remedy in fighting his murder conviction, has 30 days to file an appeal of the ruling.
Morgan was unsure exactly how much money is potentially at stake, but said the Justice Ministry will move quickly to clarify the amount. The book has reportedly been selling well. Under his contract, Thatcher received an initial advance of $5,000, to be applied against royalties of 10% of book sales on the first 5,000 copies sold, 12% on the next 5,000 and 14% on anything over 10,000 copies.
It's also unclear exactly what will become of the seized profits. The legislation provides for the money to be given to either the family of the crime victim or victim services. Morgan has acknowledged that could mean the recipients would be Thatcher and Wilson's three adult children, who are oddly supportive of their father. Wilson also has siblings in the U.S.
"I wouldn't want to see the money in Mr. Thatcher's hands either directly or indirectly. So we'll have to look at it and see what's appropriate. We have no past history of dealing with this so we are in new territory," said Morgan, adding the final decision will be made by the Saskatchewan Party cabinet.
Thatcher, the son of a former Liberal premier and a former Progressive Conservative MLA himself, was convicted in 1984 of first-degree murder in the shooting death of his ex-wife JoAnn Wilson. He was paroled in 2006 after serving 22 years.
Zarzeczny's decision opens with a bit of literary flourish, uncharacteristic of often dry, legal rulings, as he notes, "JoAnn Wilson was brutally murdered January 21, 1983 in the garage of her home in Regina across the street from the Saskatchewan Legislative Building. Her murder shocked the Regina and Saskatchewan community, as did her shooting and wounding at that same residence a year and one-half or so prior."
"This notorious homicide became even more so when, after a lengthy period of police investigation, Colin Thatcher was accused and ultimately, on November 6, 1984, convicted of her murder in the first degree."
In handling the challenge to his book himself, Thatcher told the court in December that he's been steadfast in proclaiming his innocence and that's part of the reason his book doesn't fit within the scope of the act.
"I'm hardly going to be recounting a crime I did not commit," he said, adding the book was intended to be an analysis from the defence's perspective, questioning the evidence that put him behind bars.
But Zarzeczny said Thatcher's book clearly falls under the law because it recounts the circumstances relating to Wilson's murder and Thatcher's feelings on the case. The judge also noted the ending of Final Anatomy "engages in what can only be described as either a chilling or bizarre recounting of a scenario" of how the murder could have taken place.
The judge ruled the law did not violate Thatcher's Charter rights since he can write the book, just not profit from it. If the law did violate his rights, "the Act constitutes a reasonable limit demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society," Zarzeczny added.
While four other provinces have similar laws, this is the first time such legislation had been challenged in Canada, and the ruling could establish a precedent.
The Saskatchewan Party government points out that the NDP Opposition is "obstructionist," while the NDP accuses the Saskatchewan Party of "bullying."
Another game of chicken is underway at the legislative assembly over sitting hours, and the ultimate result may be some long, talk-filled days ahead.
Saskatchewan Party House Leader Dan D'Autremont has tabled a motion that would allow the legislative assembly to sit from 8 a.m. to midnight.
He told reporters it's necessary because the NDP is not allowing legislation to proceed to committee and won't agree on a specified amount of time for debating each bill, meaning each must be allotted the maximum 20 hours.
The NDP has "given no indication whatsoever that any of the pieces of legislation will move forward in a timely fashion," said D'Autremont. "This is not something we want to do. My colleagues and I would prefer not to do this. But we need to be prepared if we have to go to extended hours."
But NDP House Leader Kevin Yates said the government is looking for something the NDP never asked for when it was in power.
He said he indicated in a meeting with D'Autremont that the NDP was prepared to work with the government but simply wanted more information on what it was bringing forward. The government then sprung the notion of extended hours, said Yates.
"We need to see everything before we know what it is. The other thing is, like I told him, is that each piece of legislation impacts various groups and we're consulting with those groups and there may be issues in these bills that we don't understand, so there may be amendments we want to make to those bills. All that work takes time," said Yates, noting the Opposition had co-operated with the government in passing three bills when the session began last fall.
While by agreement the legislative assembly has a set start and end date, Yates said there are provisions in the rules that allow for it to be automatically extended by five days. But D'Autremont said that's exactly what the Opposition wants -- to instead have the number of days extended to allow it more question periods to blast the government.
This is not the first time the two sides have wrangled over extended hours.
In the spring sitting of 2008, the legislature briefly adopted extended sitting times of 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. when the government wanted to ensure there was enough time for debate on the budget and six bills it wanted passed. The NDP resisted a unilateral change to the legislature rules that it said was the result of government bungling of the legislative schedule.
An agreement was reached after about ten days, although there were only extended hours used on three days. If an agreement isn't reached this time, the current motion will come forward for debate on Tuesday.
The Conservative government is taking steps to promote "workforce wellness" in the public service, as records show depression, stress and other mental illnesses account for nearly 45% of all disability claims.
The Treasury Board quietly kicked off a disability initiative several years ago and is expected to have a business plan ready within the year, which is a critical first step in turning around the escalating number of mental-health claims that are taking employees off the job.
The "workforce wellness" strategy promotes prevention, takes the stigma out of mental illness and gets those suffering from depression treated and back to work as quickly as possible.
It marks the biggest shift in disability management since the plan was introduced 40 years ago.
Stress, burnout, anxiety and depression are rampant in all workplaces, especially in time of economic uncertainty. The federal public service, however, ranks among the worst.
Disability claims in Canada continue to climb, with between 40%-50% for depression.
In the public service, mental-health claims doubled between 1991 and 2008 to 45%, half of which were for depression.
Bill Wilkerson, the co-founder of Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health, has long pressed the government to develop a mental-health strategy to deal with what he called its "toxic" workplace. He said depression should be tackled as a national "public health crisis."
"We have to push for a new generation of benefits design that emphasizes prevention and recognizes than brain skills are the most important skills in the federal government and for 85% of all jobs in the economy," said Wilkerson. "Only 2% of the people off for a year ever return to work and the return rate goes down like a roller coaster after being off for six months. You have to get people motivated and supported and back to work within six months."
But the Treasury Board overhaul is happening slowly. The initiative is headed by a project team with input from senior bureaucrats across government. The plan will unfold in three stages over three years. Officials expect the combination of prevention and accommodating mentally ill workers could significantly reduce disability benefits being paid out.
Treasury Board officials said 10,560 public servants have received disability benefits since April 2009. About 3,000 aren't permanently disabled and managers are trying to get them back to work.
Treasury Board documents show the government paid about $331 million in 2007-08 in premiums and fees to the insurance companies that manage its disability plans. During that time, it paid $436 million in salaries for workers on sick leave. Public servants get 15 days for every year they work, which they can bank over a career.
The European arm of Blockbuster Inc. has been put up for sale amid growing concern over the financial health of its American owner.
Blockbuster Inc. is struggling with spiralling losses and more than $1 billion in debt. It wants to offload the European division, including 650 stores in the U.K. and more than 5,000 staff, as part of a drive to raise cash.
The company has appointed Winchester Capital, an American corporate finance house, to find a buyer for the European operation, which it values at about £50 million. The company also has stores in Denmark, Ireland and Italy.
Blockbuster, founded in 1985, has been battling with debt since it was spun off from Viacom, the U.S. media conglomerate, more than a decade ago. At the same time, it has attempted to modernize by embracing the online market for home entertainment and moving away from its traditional shops.
Last month, the company said its global sales had fallen by $1 billion to $4 billion in 2009 and losses had jumped 50% to $560 million. Shares in the chain, once valued at $28, are now worth only 41 cents. Blockbuster is reportedly assessing a change to its capital structure, possibly a debt-for-equity swap with its bank, after its auditor raised doubts over its ability to continue as a going concern.
The company is also looking to modernize by improving its digital and mail-order services and expanding its network of DVD rental kiosks.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday that Canada's record-setting performance at the Vancouver Olympics should be an inspiration to MPs and all Canadians as they face the challenges of recovering from the recession.
Mr. Harper made the remark in the House of Commons but was hopeful that it was heard by more than just MPs. Mr. Harper's speech was broadcast live on YouTube, the online video service owned by Google, part of a new initiative his staff said was intended to reach out to Canadians who don't normally pay attention to politics.
"Because the Vancouver-Whistler Games... showed that when the challenge is understood, when the goal is clearly defined and when Canadians are given the tools, Canada can get things done," Mr. Harper said in the House of Commons as part of his reply to the speech from the throne. "And Mr. Speaker, getting things done is the trademark our country is starting to be known for."
But just as Mr. Harper saw the Olympics as inspiration for his government's agenda, Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe, in response to Harper, cited the Olympics as one more reason why Quebec must declare its independence.
There was significant criticism, even from some cabinet ministers, that the opening ceremony did not include enough French or references to Quebec culture.
"That means that Canada can continue to impose its multicultural ideology, the old Trudeau ideology, on Quebec," Duceppe said in the House of Commons. "Canadian federalism has nothing to offer Quebec."
Duceppe's speech was also broadcast on YouTube and caught the attention of a thousand or so who saw it on a special YouTube site set up by Google.
The site, found online at www.youtube.com/TalkCanada, also lets visitors post a question to the prime minister. Visitors can then vote on the question they'd most like Mr. Harper to answer.
Within an hour of the conclusion of the speeches by Duceppe and Mr. Harper, the most popular question was from "Warren from Red Deer." He asked: "With regards to the Bloc Quebecois party, how can we justify having so much of the federal vote controlled by what is essentially a provincial party?"
More than 600 questions had been posted by curious Canadians as of mid-day Thursday and 37,000 votes had been cast for those questions.
Mr. Harper is expected to answer those questions which attract the most votes from the online visitors.
The popularity of the Bloc Quebecois question was later eclipsed by other topics, but one issue that stayed among the top three all day was the decriminalization of marijuana.
U.S. President Barack Obama used the same YouTube system last fall and a question about marijuana legalization was the top vote-getter. The topics for Mr. Harper's questions ranged from the government's record on climate change to the Middle East to prorogation to the troubles of gay teenagers.
One person asked Mr. Harper for a job. Another asked if Harper really had an economics degree. The answer to that one: yes, he has a master's degree in economics which he earned at the University of Calgary.
In his speech in the House of Commons, Mr. Harper reiterated what Governor General Michaelle Jean had said in the Senate a little more than a week ago, that creating jobs will be the government's chief objective this year.
"It is true that our unemployment rate is still too high. That is why it is our chief priority," Mr. Harper said Thursday.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff argued in the House that the government appears to be doing little to reduce unemployment.
"On jobs and innovation, this throne speech doesn't hold water, it treads water," Ignatieff said. "The throne speech will only be remembered for one of the most remarkable flip-flops in the history of throne speeches -- a promise to change O Canada that lasted approximately 48 hours."
NDP Leader Jack Layton, in his House of Commons speech, said the NDP could support neither the throne speech nor the budget.
"This was a long throne speech, a voluminous budget, more free-flowing giveaways for big banks and oil companies," Mr. Layton said. "And precious little hope for the victims of the recession. That's not an approach New Democrats can support."
Five couples wed at the Municipal Palace in Mexico City, which legalized same-sex marriage in December. The law authorizing such unions has been challenged by the federal government.
Mayor Marcelo Ebrard was on hand to witness four of the five couples signing their marriage certificates at the end of a 20-minute ceremony. The fifth couple, flying in from another state to take advantage of the new rule, arrived late and was married after the others.
Mexico City's left-leaning legislature approved gay marriage and opened the way for adoptions by homosexual couples on December 21, provoking a wave of uproar from religious groups in the Catholic nation and conservatives, including President Felipe Calderon.
The attorney general has lodged an appeal against the move at the Supreme Court and a string of states are seeking to apply measures to specifically prohibit gay marriages. Two men were recently married in Argentina, the country's second gay marriage, after a judge approved the union ahead of possible legislation there, too.
Lol Kin Castaneda, 33, and Judith Vazquez, became the first gay couple to marry. They wore matching ivory dresses as they led the multiple ceremonies.
The couple met nine years ago, when Miss Castaneda was already an activist for gay rights and Miss Vazquez was planning to become a nun.
"They're now a family recognized by the law, with rights and obligations," said Hegel Cortes, the judge, as the couple kissed.
A Saskatchewan man is accused of uttering threats against Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Premier Brad Wall and Elwin Hermanson, chief commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission.
According to the RCMP, the threats were made by phone starting last June and the most recent call took place on February 14. There was no direct contact between the accused and any of the alleged victims, police said in a news release.
The Government of Saskatchewan has said that it has responded by boosting security around the premier during public appearances and for all members of government at the legislature.
"We did take some additional measures, I would say more in the area of just sort of heightened awareness. I'm not going to get into a lot of specifics as to what measures were taken for obvious reasons," Reg Downs, senior adviser to the premier, said Thursday.
The provincial government will likely conduct a review in the coming days to see if other changes are needed, he said.
Saskatchewan is one of the few provinces where the premier doesn't have a permanent security detail that travels with him. Former NDP premier Lorne Calvert used to take pride in being able to slip out to the hardware store by himself or with his wife, Betty.
Mr. Downs said there's never been heavy security surrounding Saskatchewan's premier and he'd like to keep it that way.
"I still hope even today there is no reason to change it because I just think it's better if our premier and our elected leaders are accessible to the people they serve," said Mr. Downs. "The vast, vast majority of Saskatchewan people are very gracious to the premier and to the other ministers and other MLAs -- even when they disagree with them. I realize that it just takes one individual to cause some trouble and you've got to watch for that, but I mean really it's a great thing about Saskatchewan (residents) that they do treat our politicians and our leaders very well."
The government would not comment directly on the case. The RCMP said no other details will be released because the matter is before the courts.
Donald Lorenz, 68, appeared in provincial court on Wednesday and was remanded in custody. Mr. Lorenz, who is from the village of Allan, about 60 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon, is expected back in court on Monday.
Samsung is the first out of the gate to announce its plans to launch the new technology in Canada and will have 3D TVs on the market by the end of the month.
Samsung will initially sell five models, in 40", 46" and 55" sizes.
The cheapest set is $2,499 while the most expensive is $3,999.
Future Shop has confirmed it will carry the 3D TVs across the country on the launch date, which is March 26.
Sony was the first major manufacturer to announce its global plans for 3D TV but has only set June as a target date for the sale of units in Japan. A Sony spokeswoman could only say that the 3D TVs will be available in Canada sometime this summer.
Panasonic announced a partnership with Best Buy to start selling its 3D TVs in the United States starting today. No Canadian plans have been revealed.
At launch, there won't be a whole lot of 3D content available to watch. Future Shop and Best Buy currently only offer two 3D Blu-ray titles -- "My Bloody Valentine 3D" for $35 and "Under the Sea 3D" $38, which require a new 3D Blu-ray player. Samsung's player sells for $400.
It's unclear if Samsung will supply 3D glasses with its TVs and how much additional glasses will cost.
What do you do when you're old but still healthy and feel that you have nothing to live for? Well, you would commit suicide. Well, that's what some people would think.
And in the Netherlands, this appears to soon become reality.
The country's MPs will discuss the "right to die" proposals after a campaign forced a debate by collecting over 100,000 signatures in support.
The influential Dutch "Right to Die" campaign, active since 1973, has launched new "vrijwillig levenseinde", or "of free will", demands to extend euthanasia beyond assisted suicide for terminally ill people.
The group has proposed training non-medical staffers to administer a lethal injection to healthy people over the age of 70 that "consider their lives complete" and want to die.
Under the plans, the suicide assistants would be certified and would be required to make sure that patients were not temporarily depressed and had a "heartfelt and enduring desire" to die.
Marie-Jose Grotenhuis, the campaign's spokeswoman, said: "We've been overwhelmed by the amount of reactions, especially because people took it so seriously and reactions were mostly positive."
Euthanasia was legalised in Holland in 2002 and the new proposals have been backed by the majority of people in Dutch opinion polls.
The Royal Dutch Medical Association is divided over calls to extend euthanasia beyond those suffering from painful terminal illnesses and has set up a committee to examine the proposals.
Sander Hofman, the association's spokesman, said: "For instance, a doctor probably has a role in easing the suffering of a person who is refusing to eat or drink."
Several European countries, including neighbouring Belgium, allow euthanasia for terminally ill people who wish to die. Britain and France allow terminally ill people to refuse medical treatment but stop short of allowing active assisted suicide.
The Dutch legalisation for euthanasia for the terminally ill was preceded by decades of negotiations that attached stringent conditions and medical supervision. Up to 2,500 euthanasia cases were reported in Holland in 2009, up nearly 10%, rising over the last decade as doctors have used to the practice.
But, even if the Dutch parliament approves the extension of euthanasia to health elderly people, any new legislation would take over a decade to implement.
The seemingly unstoppable Canadian dollar posted its ninth straight winning session Wednesday and is destined for parity with the U.S. greenback this summer, says a top Canadian economist.
The loonie grew ever closer to that mark Wednesday, closing at 97.48 US cents and flirting with a high last seen five months ago. It has been on a tear since the government released data early this month showing the economy growing at a blistering five per cent in the most recent quarter.
The growth figures, combined with a slightly more hawkish tone from the Bank of Canada, have prompted traders to conclude the bank will soon raise rates to keep the economy from overheating.
Avery Shenfeld, the chief economist at CIBC World Markets, said Wednesday he expects a rate hike in July and growing demand for Canadian investments will drive the loonie beyond parity with the U.S. dollar.
It will climb as high as $1.02 US by September, before dropping to 97 cents US by year's end, he forecasts.
"If, as we expect, the (Bank of Canada) is out in front of the U.S. Federal Reserve by a couple of quarters (in raising interest rates), a higher Canadian dollar will help tighten monetary conditions," Shenfeld said in a report. "It's easy to see the Canadian dollar running a few cents through parity after the first hike."
Many consider the bank to be between a rock and a hard place. If it raises rates, it will push the dollar to parity and put a serious damper on exporters. But if it does not raise rates, then the bank would appear soft on inflation and also possibly damage the economy.
"I think it's an error. They will raise rates, but they shouldn't," said Benjamin Tal, also an economist with CIBC. "It will cool down the economy a little bit, so the hope is they will not do too much. They don't really have a clear target, so they will test the waters with maybe 50 to 75 basis points and take it from there."
The dollar's last dance with parity occurred in July 2008, when oil prices spiked above $145 US a barrel. The Bank of Canada made what it referred to as a conditional commitment almost a year ago to keep record low interest rates of 0.25% steady until the second half of 2010.
With an economic recovery now apparently taking root, many are banking on Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney acting sooner rather than later.
"Nobody should be surprised if the Bank of Canada begins hiking rates as soon as its June-end line in the sand has passed," said Shenfeld, adding he expects rate increases will be implemented at a measured pace. "There's the uncertainty that the Bank of Canada will still face regarding the global outlook after 2010. It's not just Canada that will be weathering a fiscal tightening; it's the U.S., Europe, Japan and China as well."
"Banking reforms could restrain lending room globally, and the U.S. housing market, the root source of the 2008-09 shock, is still a mess. Going full bore with rate hikes in the first year or so of recovery risks having to do an about-face if any of these minefields blow up," said Shenfeld.
The Conservative government appears ready to move ahead on imposing random roadside breath testing, which a new federal discussion paper says has produced "remarkable results" in catching more drunk drivers in other countries.
The Justice Department is inviting public input on the idea of random sobriety tests and federal officials plan to meet this month and next with provincial ministers and other experts to measure support.
In a rare move, the federal government has posted on its website a discussion paper, weighing the benefits of random testing, seeking feedback by the end of April.
Empowering police to conduct random breath tests would replace Canada's 40-year-old legislation on impaired driving, which dictates that breathalyser tests can only be administered when there is reasonable suspicion of drunk driving.
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson has already said he likes the idea, and MADD executive director Andrew Murie said the coming talks with interest groups and provincial governments are a sign the government could take action.
"I think the tone is that this is something they should do and the discussion paper reflects that," said Murie, stressing that he has no inside information on when, or even if, a proposed new law would be introduced in Parliament.
The Justice Department paper states the government is eyeing "a comprehensive set of reforms" to combat impaired driving.
Murie described random breath tests as "No. 1, far and away" among about eight recommendations last year by the House of Commons justice committee that would reduce the growing number of deaths caused by drunk drivers.
The aforementioned discussion paper, which states that the Government of Canada accepts the committee's recommendations in principle, noted that Canada would be following Australia, New Zealand and 22 European countries that have imposed random testing.
The Justice Department reports that such testing has reduced fatal crashes by as much as 35% in some jurisdictions and, in New Zealand, saved society more than $1 billion in 1997 alone.
What do you do when you are a celebrity talk show host that recently lost your job? Well, like many of those who are unemployed and bored, you would obviously surf the Internets aimlessly, and even go on Twitter.
So, recently, Conan O'Brien was bored and decided to follow a Twitter user named Sarah Killen at random.
Now, Killen has tons of followers and she answers their questions about her life, including her wedding, and other stuff.
In fact, Killen has described some perks of being followed by Conan O'Brien... she has received wine, a limo, a wedding gown for her wedding day and a new computer... and meeting rapper Ludacris.
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, is turning for the first time ever to YouTube to put his political spin on last week's Speech from the Throne and is even taking questions at www.youtube.com/talkcanada.
The Office of the Prime Minister announced today that Mr. Harper's reaction to the Speech from the Throne will be streamed tomorrow morning from the House of Commons.
"Canadians, especially younger Canadians, are no longer getting their news from just television, radio and print media. They are turning to new media in increasing numbers," according to a PMO statement.
Politicians both in the Canada and the U.S. often complain they don't like their messages being filtered through the traditional media or having to answer questions from reporters.
"Social media is changing the way Canadians interact with politicians. It allows Canadians to have unfiltered and immediate access to information. Livestreaming compliments our Government's current use of social media," the PMO stated.
Mr. Harper will follow up his viral performance with another appearance on YouTube on Tuesday at 7 p.m. where he will answer selected questions that have to be in by Sunday at 1 p.m. EST.
A Windsor surgeon who performed two unnecessary mastectomies is seeking to have her privileges reinstated at Windsor's Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital in the midst of three investigations into her practice. Dr. Barbara Heartwell, who is under investigation by the hospital, the Ontario Ministry of Health and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, will make her case before a panel of hospital board members at a formal hearing today.
Heartwell's troubles began three weeks ago, when Hotel-Dieu announced she had misread a pathology report and performed an unnecessary mastectomy last fall on Leamington, Ontario woman Laurie Johnston, who never had breast cancer.
On February 23, Heartwell voluntarily stopped performing surgeries at Hotel-Dieu after it was revealed she also removed Janice Laporte's cancer-free breast in 2001.
But three days later, Heartwell "unexpectedly" withdrew her agreement and wanted to return to the operating room. In a rare move, Hotel-Dieu's interim chief of staff at the time, Dr. Kevin Tracey, immediately suspended her privileges, hospital officials said Tuesday.
Under the Ontario Public Hospitals Act and hospital bylaws governing professional staff, Heartwell was entitled to have her suspension reviewed by Hotel-Dieu's medical advisory committee -- comprised of leading physicians at the hospital -- within five days. The committee then makes a recommendation to the hospital's board of directors on whether to reinstate privileges.
A panel of board members will hear submissions Wednesday from the medical advisory committee and Heartwell, who will attend the hearing with her lawyer.
Hospital board chairman Egidio Sovran said the board will act as a quasi-judicial decision maker and "must act impartially in accordance with relevant legislation."
The board will make its decision after considering arguments from both sides.
Heartwell can appeal the decision to the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board, an independent tribunal that holds hearings concerning doctors' hospital privileges. Hotel-Dieu is currently reviewing all of Heartwell's past cases. The Ministry of Health also got involved recently, sending investigators to Windsor.
In addition, the ministry is also reviewing about 3,000 pathology reports following the January 4 suspension of another Hotel-Dieu medical official, pathologist Dr. Olive Williams, over errors in her work. Williams, who analyzed specimens for all three hospitals in the area, has since resigned from Hotel-Dieu.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons is investigating both Heartwell and Williams.
With local residents still overwhelmed by the loss of Ontario Provincial Police Constable Vu Pham, a clearer picture emerged Tuesday of the douche involved in his shooting. Fred Preston, 70, of Burk's Falls, Ontario remains in critical condition in a London hospital, where he was being treated for injuries sustained in Monday's shootout.
The provincial Special Investigations Unit, which was probing the incident, said Preston became involved in a confrontation with Ontario Provincial Police at 82352 North Line, a home in rural Leadbury, Ontario about 90 kilometres north of London.
Constable Pham, 37, was shot after he pulled over a suspect vehicle around 10 a.m. Monday. A gun battle ensued between OPP and the suspect, who was ultimately wounded by police. Some witnesses reported hearing around 20 shots.
The home on North Line, where neighbours say a man named John Driscoll resided, was under police guard Tuesday. There were reports Preston's estranged wife may have shared that address.
Meanwhile, in nearby Wingham, Constable Pham's neighbours, friends and colleagues were struggling to recover from the loss of the 15-year OPP veteran, who worked out of the Huron detachment and was married with three young children.
"He was forever outside teaching them how to throw a ball, or kick a ball," next-door neighbour Lorne Mackenzie said in an interview at the local arena where Const. Pham coached hockey.
In a Pentecostal church that is minutes from the arena, Constable Pham's family were making funeral arrangements, according to police officers blocking access to the building. By all accounts, Constable Pham was a loving father, a dedicated officer and an active member of the community. A cluster of vehicles were parked outside his home on a quiet side street in the Wingham region.
"Anybody that knew him, liked him," Mackenzie said, noting Constable Pham's wife, Heather, has been "falling back on her faith" to cope.
Chief Tim Poole of the Wingham Police Service, who worked with Constable Pham on matters concerning the town, said the pair frequently went out for coffee, where Constable Pham spoke about his family and his children's sporting events. The local force was stunned by the news of his death, Chief Poole said.
"Everyone copes in their own way," he said outside the station. "It's a tragedy that shouldn't have happened."
The Wingham OPP detachment was sealed tight earlier in the day, the flag outside at half-mast.
A "good listener," Constable Pham was always busy outside his home, tending to his yard or playing soccer or baseball with his children, neighbour Doug Noble said.
"Around here, a lot of days are the same, and then one day, something happens that changes everything," Noble said.
Neighbour Kim Smith, recalling pleasant conversations with the Phams at community barbecues, called them "the perfect family" and said they were heavily involved in the local church.
"Everybody's devastated," Smith said, with tears in her eyes.
Constable Pham, who is a native of Saigon, Vietnam, "lived for his children," and they will miss him dearly, Mackenzie said.
He recalled how the neighbours often relaxed together by a backyard campfire, and says he will remember the Phams in a happier time: "The five of them, sitting by the fire, enjoying them-selves."
Burk's Falls is approximately 260 kilometres north of Toronto.
About 50 Canadian food companies manufactured snacks and other processed foods made with an ingredient that has been recalled due to possible salmonella contamination, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Tuesday.
In the past six days, a batch of the flavour enhancer hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) that was found last month to be contaminated with salmonella has resulted in the recall of more than 100 items in the U.S. and 11 in Canada, including five imports and six products that were made here. They include No Name and Compliments soup mixes, Family's Best potato chips, two dips from Sabatini's Gourmet Foods, and Mom's Pantry popcorn seasoning.
Catherine Airth, associate vice-president of operations, said the agency is continuing to work with the dozens of Canadian manufacturers to determine if there was a kill step for their products during production, such as a cooking or boiling process that kills the bacteria prior to consumption. That work began on February 26, a day after Nevada-based Basic Food Flavors, Inc., informed its clients of the HVP recall.
"I think we're in a good spot in the sense we know where it's gone, we just have to continue that work all the way through," said Airth.
Uncooked products, such as flavoured chips, snacks and dips put consumers at higher risk and will be subject to recalls.
Separately, the United States Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday released an inspection report into its ongoing investigation, which it says could balloon into the largest food recall in North American history because the additive is used in thousands of processed foods. The FDA probe began over a month ago when a client of Nevada-based Basic Food Flavors, Inc., found salmonella in HVP shipped from the company. The FDA then inspected its Las Vegas processing plant and identified salmonella in the company's processing equipment.
The newly released inspection report shows Basic Food Flavors received the first of three reports of positive environmental samples from its private testing laboratory on January 21, but did not stop distribution until Feb. 15.
The FDA report notes that, "after receiving the first private laboratory analytical results (dated Jan. 21) indicating the presence of salmonella in your facility, you continued to distribute HVP paste and powder products until Feb. 15, 2010."
All HVP manufactured since last September is caught up in the recall. This means millions of kilograms of potentially contaminated additives were distributed in bulk over a five-month period, including an undisclosed amount shipped to Chemroy Canada Inc., a specialty chemical and food ingredient distributor to Canadian food manufacturers.
Ed Dempsey, Chemroy Canada's food industry manager, said Tuesday the company doesn't conduct any spot product tests, but requires such suppliers as Basic Food Flavors to provide certificates of analysis "so that when we're bringing that product in, we have a high confidence that the product meets the specifications that the supplier has stated."
In this instance, the paperwork showed no product contamination, said Dempsey, who handed over Chemroy's client contact list and other relevant paperwork to CFIA within 24 hours of the February 25 recall. To date, there have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of the recalled products, U.S. and Canadian authorities said.
Food contaminated with salmonella may not look or smell spoiled, but consuming food contaminated with these bacteria may cause salmonellosis, a food-borne illness.
In young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems, salmonellosis may cause serious and sometimes deadly infections. In otherwise healthy people, salmonellosis may cause short-term symptoms, such as high fever, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea.
Remember when Brian Mulroney was the Prime Minister of Canada? Well, I can't say that I can, as he became the Prime Minister of Canada before I was born, and stopped being the Prime Minister when was I was about three years old. Well, he is one of the masterminds behind the North American Free Trade Agreement, which saw free trade between Canada, the United States and Mexico, or NAFTA, as it is called.
Well, the Conservative government sought Tuesday to fend off a new trade threat from U.S. lawmakers pushing legislation to scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement. The anti-NAFTA bill, which has 28 Democratic and Republican sponsors, comes only a month after Canada and the U.S. reached a deal to end a protracted dispute over Buy American provisions in the $787 billion economic stimulus package.
With U.S. midterm elections coming in November and the American economy still losing jobs, the legislation could portend another wave of protectionist sentiment on Capitol Hill.
"We are closely following this bill, of course," International Trade Minister Peter Van Loan told reporters in Ottawa. "Our evaluation is that this is certainly inconsistent with the direction that the Barack Obama administration has chosen."
At issue is legislation introduced last week in the House of Representatives by Representative Gene Taylor, a Mississippi Democrat who cited America's near-10% unemployment rate as the motivation for trying to kill the trade agreement involving Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
Taylor, a member of the influential Blue Dog caucus of conservative Democrats, is a 10-term congressman who voted against passage of NAFTA in 1993. He blames the treaty for a 29% drop in U.S. manufacturing employment over the ensuing 17 years.
"At a time when 10 to 12% of the American people are unemployed, I think Congress has an obligation to put people back to work," Taylor said when introducing the bill. "Timing is everything in life and it's the right time to pass this legislation. Proponents have had more than enough time to make this work. It didn't."
The legislation proposes the U.S. withdraw from NAFTA within six months of the bill's passage.
Taylor has assembled an eclectic crew of Democratic and Republican co-sponsors for the legislation. On the political left are Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich, a perennial presidential candidate, and Pete Visclosky, the Indiana lawmaker responsible for inserting the Buy American language into last year's stimulus bill. Obviously, someone has too much American pride.
Among the three Republican backers of the bill is Texas Representative Ron Paul. Yeah, how did we know that Texas would come into the picture?
Paul, a former GOP presidential candidate, has stoked fears of a NAFTA superhighway "the width of several football fields" that would stretch from Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico.
The anti-NAFTA lawmakers face a tough challenge in advancing their legislation at a time when Congress is focused on passage of a healthcare bill. They also face significant resistance from President Barack Obama, who used his state of the union address in January to champion free trade as a way for the U.S. to grow its way of the recession.
The Buy American deal struck in February between the Government of Canada and the U.S. government was a "demonstration of the Obama administration's commitment to free trade," Van Loan said.
"And as such, we are optimistic this (anti-NAFTA legislation) will not come to pass."
Still, Canadian officials are wary because anti-NAFTA sentiment tends to spike ahead of elections. One national U.S. media outlet has described an "outbreak of protectionist fever" in Congress as the November midterms approach.
"NAFTA has become a moniker for anxiety about globalization and worries about the economy," said Maryscott Greenwood, executive director of the Canadian American Business Council. "There's a lack of awareness about the important role that Canada and the United States play in each other's economies. There is just a real fundamental misunderstanding about how integrated our supply chains are."
NDP Leader Jack Layton, who favours renegotiating NAFTA, said he hoped the U.S. bill might bring renewed political pressure on the Obama administration to renegotiate environmental and labour agreements in the treaty.
"So maybe what we're seeing here is the beginning of a shift in the U.S. Congress that could lead toward some renegotiation which we think is -- it's high time that that happened," Layton said.
In addition to the anti-NAFTA bill, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown last week introduced his own legislation that would require the U.S. to review all existing trade agreements before entering into new deals.
"We need hard data on the effect our trade agreements have on American wages and jobs, so that we know what we are getting ourselves into before we move forward," Brown said.
Other lawmakers continue to write Buy American provisions into other pieces of legislation. New York Senator Charles Schumer, for instance, this week introduced Buy American amendments into a green energy bill. It was aimed at requiring only U.S.-made equipment to be used in power plants fuelled by renewable energy, such as wind.
Simon Cowell has finally confirmed his engagement to his make-up artist girlfriend Mezghan Hussainy on a U.S. TV talk show. The TV mogul not only confirmed his engagement but also coyly admitted to the chat show host that a wedding is on the cards, according to multiple tabloid reports.
The Internets was abuzz with reports last month that Cowell and Hussainy have gotten engaged during a dinner date. Reports emerged at the time claiming that Cowell popped the question during a romantic dinner at Mr Chow restaurant in Knightsbridge, London on Valentine's night, and his makeup artist sweetheart presumably has happily answered "Yes."
Cowell, 50, and Hussainy, 36, were recently spotted hugging and kissing in public, fuelling speculation that they are an item. The two have reportedly been dating since last summer, but the two were never pictured together until last month when reports emerged claiming that Cowell shared his first public kiss with his new lady love during a break in filming for ITV1 talent show Britain's Got Talent.
After much speculation, the X Factor supreme officially confirmed his engagement to his Afghan-born sweetheart, known as Mish, during an appearance on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" on Monday night, People.com reports.
Besides the engagement confirmation, Cowell also broke the news that he and Hussainy are getting hitched and that he is thinking of one day becoming a father.
When Leno broached the engagement subject, Cowell first tried to remain coy but soon admitted to it.
During the interview, Leno asked the music mogul: "Are rumours you're engaged true?"
After a moment of pause, Cowell responded, "Are they true? Well, I do have somebody in my life now, Jay, yes. And I kind of made a decision this year to make somebody happy."
"So you're doing this just to help someone?" the show host asked.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper waltzed through his first interview gig on YouTube on Tuesday and along the way he gave a thumbs-up to the seal hunt and the crackdown on "guns, gangs and drugs" and a firm thumbs-down to legalizing pot.
A Conservative member of the Ontario legislature says that Toronto should form its own province because communities outside the metropolis are not being heard.
Honda Canada announced Tuesday that it will recall thousands of vehicles after fielding owner complaints involving brake pedals. The recall involves 24,680 Odyssey and 4,137 Element vehicles in Canada from the 2007-2008 model years. The company plans to modify the vehicle stability assist modulator, which is connected to the ABS braking system.
Canadian movie pirates were put on notice yesterday after a Montreal DVD bootlegger pointed out by the FBI was sentenced to two-and-a-half months in prison.
What do you do when you are in a romantic situation with your boyfriend/girlfriend? Well, typically, you would kiss. And here in Canada, there's no law against kissing in public, or is there? Well, we won't go into that, because it's Canada.
Sony and the estate of late music legend Michael Jackson have signed a record-breaking 250-million-dollar deal for distribution rights through 2017, U.S. media said Tuesday.
Marijuana activist Marc Emery's battle to avoid going to a U.S. prison got a boost this week in the House of Commons for some apparent reason.
Congressional Democrats took the first step on Monday toward a quick final vote on a healthcare overhaul and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed to muster the votes needed to pass it.
Now that mixed tapes have disappeared from today's lexicon, it's time consumers cough up a little cash for a private copying levy for iPods and other MP3 players, according to a private member's bill tabled in the House of Commons Tuesday.
City councillors were united Monday in support of adding $1.5 million to the snow removal budget, including a new policy to clear residential streets when they become badly rutted.
The world's shortest man has died in Italy, where he was to take part in a TV show, the program's production company said Tuesday.
Donna Simpson, who is 42 years old and lives in Old Bridge, New Jersey, already tips the scales at 600 pounds but says she won't be satisfied until she's gained enough weight for herself to weigh 1,000 pounds, to grab the title of world's fattest woman, the London Daily Mail reported.
The chief executive of Toyota Canada on Tuesday expressed regret at the "anxiety and inconvenience" that the company's recent recalls has caused its Canadian customers.
Taking Saskatoon Transit is relatively easy, right? Well, with Phone&Go, some services are limited, and with Click&Go, it's slow, and you're better off knowing the addresses of where you would like to go, since not every business is listed on there. Of course, it would be easier to use the service in conjunction with Google Maps or something like that.
Calling it "a good day for victims of crime," Saskatchewan's justice minister applauded a court decision ordering killer-turned-author Colin Thatcher to turn over the profits of his book Final Appeal: Anatomy of a Frame.
The Saskatchewan Party government points out that the NDP Opposition is "obstructionist," while the NDP accuses the Saskatchewan Party of "bullying."
The European arm of Blockbuster Inc. has been put up for sale amid growing concern over the financial health of its American owner.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday that Canada's record-setting performance at the Vancouver Olympics should be an inspiration to MPs and all Canadians as they face the challenges of recovering from the recession.
Five couples wed at the Municipal Palace in Mexico City, which legalized same-sex marriage in December. The law authorizing such unions has been challenged by the federal government.
A Saskatchewan man is accused of uttering threats against Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Premier Brad Wall and Elwin Hermanson, chief commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission.
You don't see much of Jerry Seinfeld on his own new NBC show, The Marriage Ref, which he lets someone else host.
The 3D-TV war is officially on in Canada.
What do you do when you're old but still healthy and feel that you have nothing to live for? Well, you would commit suicide. Well, that's what some people would think.
The seemingly unstoppable Canadian dollar posted its ninth straight winning session Wednesday and is destined for parity with the U.S. greenback this summer, says a top Canadian economist.
The Conservative government appears ready to move ahead on imposing random roadside breath testing, which a new federal discussion paper says has produced "remarkable results" in catching more drunk drivers in other countries.
What do you do when you are a celebrity talk show host that recently lost your job? Well, like many of those who are unemployed and bored, you would obviously surf the Internets aimlessly, and even go on Twitter.
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, is turning for the first time ever to YouTube to put his political spin on last week's Speech from the Throne and is even taking questions at www.youtube.com/talkcanada.
A Windsor surgeon who performed two unnecessary mastectomies is seeking to have her privileges reinstated at Windsor's Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital in the midst of three investigations into her practice. Dr. Barbara Heartwell, who is under investigation by the hospital, the Ontario Ministry of Health and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, will make her case before a panel of hospital board members at a formal hearing today.
Remember when Brian Mulroney was the Prime Minister of Canada? Well, I can't say that I can, as he became the Prime Minister of Canada before I was born, and stopped being the Prime Minister when was I was about three years old. Well, he is one of the masterminds behind the North American Free Trade Agreement, which saw free trade between Canada, the United States and Mexico, or NAFTA, as it is called.
Simon Cowell has finally confirmed his engagement to his make-up artist girlfriend Mezghan Hussainy on a U.S. TV talk show. The TV mogul not only confirmed his engagement but also coyly admitted to the chat show host that a wedding is on the cards, according to multiple tabloid reports.
