Toronto Film Fest enacts rules for paparazzi
Reservations will be required for red carpet access
By Etan Vlessing
Aug 30, 2010, 11:43 AM ET
TORONTO – Reservations, please.
That’s the new red carpet rule for paparazzi at the Toronto International Film Festival, where media outlets this September will be required to RSVP before being assigned nightly vantage points to snap the stars.
Jettisoning the old lottery system and red carpet jostling, Toronto will see celebrity camera crews and photographers each morning reserve by email the films they want to cover that afternoon and evening.
Paparazzi will then receive an email confirming whether or not they were granted a spot at their desired red carpet.
TIFF organizers are determined to make their new rules for snappers stick.
“Red carpet assignments will be made for each and every carpet — media outlets will not retain the same spot on every carpet, on every night or at every venue,” the festival said in its new red carpet protocol released on the weekend.
Organizers will not take reservations by phone, only email, and insist they will assign spots on the red carpet according to a film’s audience, reach and geography, among other criteria.
Establishing etiquette among paparazzo in Toronto comes as fest organizers have extended red carpets outside a host of festival venues, and charged cinema-goers extra for the privilege of seeing their favorite stars strut into theaters.
Archive for the ‘Canada’ Category
Toronto Film Fest enacts rules for paparazzi
In Canada on August 30, 2010 at 19:42Wildrose Alliance says it won’t abide Conservative restriction
In Canada on August 30, 2010 at 19:42Wildrose Alliance says it won’t abide Conservative restriction
Danielle Smith, leader of the Alberta Wildrose Alliance party, speaks to the media at the Sheraton Suites Hotel in Calgary, Alberta on9 October 19, 2009.
Photograph by: Stuart Gradon/Calgary Herald, Stuart Gradon/Calgary Herald
The Wildrose Alliance and Speaker Ken Kowalski are locking horns once more, this time over the use of Danielle Smith’s name in official caucus news releases.
The clerk of the legislature – who reports to the Speaker’s office – sent a letter last week to the Wildrose party caucus, demanding it stop quoting the unelected Smith in news releases sent out by the caucus office, which is funded by taxpayers.
The Speaker’s office believes that quoting Smith crosses the line from caucus matters into those of the party, which shouldn’t be using taxpayer dollars for political gain.
Smith said Monday the request is the latest example of Kowalski and the Speaker’s office picking on the surging opposition party. The Wildrose caucus is asking Kowalski to withdraw the request and also requesting a meeting with the Speaker to discuss the matter.
“It is ridiculous,” Smith said Monday. “We’re simply not going to abide by it.”
The four-member Wildrose caucus has already been denied additional legislature funding by a Tory-dominated committee that’s chaired by Kowalski.
Earlier this year, the caucus (three members at the time) was seeking the “Leader’s Office Allowance” – an additional $233,000 in funding – despite party leader Smith not being an elected member of the legislature. The status would have granted the Wildrose extra cash that could be used to fund research and to hire staff.
To nab the funding, the Wildrose called party deputy leader Paul Hinman their “acting leader in all matters in the legislature.” Their plea, however, was rebuffed by the Conservative-led members’ services committee.
Smith said the latest request follows a pattern of Kowalski failing to act in a non-partisan manner, as is demanded in his role as Speaker.
Kowalski wasn’t available for comment on Monday, but a spokeswoman in his office said the Speaker had nothing to do with the letter and that Wildrose must follow the legislature’s long-standing protocols.
“They (Wildrose) have to understand the rules better,” said Bev Alenius in the Speaker’s office.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Charges laid in B.C. mushroom farm deaths
In Canada on August 30, 2010 at 19:41Small internet providers get higher speeds: CRTC
In Canada on August 30, 2010 at 19:41The CRTC originally ruled that smaller ISPs could have faster speeds in late 2008, but its decision was appealed to cabinet by Bell and Telus. (CBC)
The CRTC is sticking to its guns and ordering big phone network owners such as Bell and Telus to offer smaller wholesale companies higher internet speeds, despite previous disagreement from the government.
Network owners will be required to offer whatever internet speeds they themselves sell to retail customers to smaller companies that rent portions of their networks, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission affirmed Monday. The requirement is necessary to maintain competition and reasonable prices for broadband services, the regulator said.
“Access to broadband internet services is a key foundation for the digital economy,” CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein stated. “The large telephone and cable companies are bringing their fibre networks closer to Canadian homes and businesses, which allows for faster internet connections. Requiring these companies to provide access to their networks will lead to more opportunities for competition in retail internet services and better serve consumers.”
The decision reaffirms a December 2008 CRTC ruling, which was remanded for reconsideration a year later by Industry Minister Tony Clement. The government acceded to lobbying from the big phone companies and ordered the CRTC to review its decision on the grounds that it had failed to consider a number of issues:
- How the matching speeds would diminish the phone companies’ incentives to invest in new infrastructure.
- Whether there is sufficient competition to protect consumers without the requirement of matching speeds.
- Whether the regulatory requirements on phone and cable companies are equal.
- How the matching-speeds requirement would affect phone companies’ abilities to offer services such as television over an internet connection.
Smaller internet providers such as Teksavvy and Execulink had argued that without requirements to offer matching speeds, the big companies would put them out of business. Bell and Telus are selling internet connections of up to 25 and 15 megabits per second respectively over newer fibre-based networks, but smaller providers can typically offer speeds of no more than five megabits per second over older copper-based infrastructure.
After holding a public hearing earlier this year, the CRTC now says it will allow phone companies to charge smaller providers an extra 10-per-cent mark-up to use their newer infrastructure in order to recoup the costs of their investments.
The regulator also said it would require cable companies to modify their existing internet access services to make it easier for smaller, “alternative” providers to connect to them. Cable companies are already required to offer matching speeds.
Small providers were denied their request to require phone and cable companies to reconfigure their networks to offer additional services, such as television. The CRTC said forcing such a reconfiguration “would constitute a disincentive to network investments without necessarily enhancing innovation or competition.”
Commissioner Timothy Denton attached a dissenting opinion, which agreed with most of the ruling but chided the reconfiguration denial. The denial prevents smaller internet providers from getting around the download limits or throttling imposed on certain uses, such as peer-to-peer software, by network owners, he said.
“The current ambivalence about the role and legitimacy of smaller carriers continues. They are allowed to exist but denied the means to innovate,” he said. “In a business with as much uncertainty as this, turning down the possibility for technical and business innovation seems a riskier move than letting it go ahead.
Ruling evokes mixed reaction
Some smaller internet providers were pleased with the majority of the decision, but agreed with Denton.
“The CRTC’s approach will entrench the duopolistic nature of the communications wireline services industry in many important markets and stifle the ability of competitors to provide new and innovative services,” said Teksavvy’s chief technology officer Marc Gaudrault in a statement.
“In this environment, it will be very difficult for competitors to attract the capital necessary to innovate, grow and contribute to the greatest extent possible to the competitive landscape and increase consumer choice.”
Bell said the decision discourages investment in its networks and shows there is a lack of clarity in public policy.
The allowed 10-per-cent mark-up “is mere tinkering and does not create an environment which allows us to maximize the returns on our very significant fibre network investments,” said Mirko Bibic, senior vice-president of regulatory and government affairs.
“We need to know, which is it? Do we want as much network investment in Canada as possible, or not? Last year, cabinet sent this issue back to the CRTC for reconsideration. Clearly, this isn’t the decision cabinet was looking for.”
Ken Engelhart, vice-president of regulatory affairs for Rogers, said that although the decision went about as expected, some issues remain. Phone companies, for example, can charge 10 per cent more for access to their higher-speed infrastructure, but cable companies cannot.
“They seem pretty concerned about symmetry between phone and cable, which is fair enough, I think, but they seem to have introduced a couple of asymmetries in this decision,” he said. “So much for the level playing field.”
Network owners will have 90 days to propose to the CRTC the fees they intend to charge smaller internet providers for faster speeds.
The regulator said it will consider the phase-out of mandated internet access when alternatives such as wireless and satellite become more accepted as substitutes.
Monday’s decision is likely to put pressure back on the federal government, which will have to decide whether to overrule the regulator or let the CRTC’s requirement stand. The cabinet has 90 days to make a decision.
A spokesperson for Clement said it would be inappropriate to comment because the CRTC decision can be reviewed by the Governor in Council.
Timeline: Canadian deaths in Afghanistan
In Canada on August 30, 2010 at 19:41152 Canadian soldiers, one Canadian reporter, one diplomat and two aid workers have been killed since the Canadian military deployed to Afghanistan in early 2002.
2010
August 30: Cpl. Brian Pinksen, 21, was walking a short distance between two Canadian combat outposts on August 22 in the village of Nakhonay, 18 kilometres south west of Kandahar City, when an improvised explosive device planted by insurgents was detonated, wounding the soldier and one of his fellow servicemen. Pinksen was flown into a German hospital three days after being injured, and later succumbed to his injuries. Pinksen was from the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Newfoundland Regiment, based in Corner Brook, and served with the 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group.
July 20: Sapper Brian Collier, 24, was killed by a homemade landmine while on a foot patrol, near Nakhonay, in eastern Panjwaii District, just southwest of Kandahar City. It has been a particularly dangerous area for the Canadian force since moving many of its troops there to live among villagers late last year. The Bradford, Ont. native, with the 1 Combat Engineer Regiment based in Edmonton, was two months into his first tour in Afghanistan at the time. Collier was a good combat engineer who "quickly became known by his peers and superiors for his devotion, his enthusiasm and his technical abilities."
June 26: Pte. Andrew Miller, 21, of Sudbury, Ont., died after an armoured vehicle hit an improvised explosive device while responding to a report of a bomb in the doorway of a local home. Miller was from 2 Canadian Field Ambulance in Petawawa, Ont. Miller is survived by his mother, Wendy Miller; his father, Raymond Ealdama, two sisters, a brother, and his girlfriend.
June 26: Master Cpl. Kristal Giesebrecht, 34, of Wallaceburg, Ont., died after an armoured vehicle hit an improvised explosive device while responding to a report of a bomb in the doorway of a local home. Giesebrecht, who was from the 1 Canadian Field Hospital in Petawawa, Ont, was married and on her second tour of Afghanistan. Her husband Matt, recalled how much she loved to party. The pair met in 1996 and married in 2001.
June 21: Sgt. James Macneil of Glace Bay, N.S., was killed while on a foot patrol in Nakhoney, about 20 kilometres southwest of Kandahar. Macneil was a combat engineer with 2 Combat Engineer Regiment of CFB Petawawa, Ont. A 10-year army veteran, the 28-year-old Cape Bretoner was two months into his fourth tour in Afghanistan. The sapper, who was known to his comrades and friends as "Jimmy," was patrolling with other members of the Royal Canadian Regiment battle group in Panjwaii District, when he was killed by an improvised explosive device — a homemade landmine.
June 6: Sgt. Martin Goudreault, of 1 Combat Engineer Regiment in Edmonton, died when he was killed by a homemade landmine while on a foot patrol about 15 kilometres southwest of Kandahar City. Goudreault, who was known as Marty to his friends, was from Sudbury, Ont., and had just begun his third tour in Afghanistan. Goudreault’s patrol had earlier been searching for weapon caches in a remote part of Panjwaii District, which was controlled by the Taliban until Canadian Forces cleared the area of insurgents and began living among the population there several months ago.
May 24: Trooper Larry Rudd, 26, of the Royal Canadian Dragoons — who was described Monday as “a gentle giant” — died when the armoured vehicle he was travelling in struck a makeshift landmine during a combat resupply of other Canadian troops in Panjwaii District — southwest of Kandahar City. The Brantford, Ont., native’s squadron was in the first weeks of its seven month tour in Afghanistan.
May 18: Col. Geoff Parker of the Royal Canadian Regiment was traveling in a convoy of three SUVs with U.S. troops when a suicide bomber driving a mini-van with nearly a ton of explosives packed inside swerved into them. Five American soldiers also died in the attack that killed the 42-year-old infantry officer, who was on a "recce" visit to Kabul before taking up an assignment there. Parker was from Oakville, Ont.
May 13: Pte. Kevin Thomas McKay, 24, of the Alberta-based 1st battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, was killed by a homemade landmine Thursday while on a night patrol near the village of Nakhoney, 15 southwest of Kandahar City, in an area that the Canadians had taken from the Taliban several months ago. "Mickey" McKay after nearly seven months in-country the young infantryman from Richmond Hill, Ont., was only to patrol for two more days "outside the wire." McKay, who was on his first tour in Afghanistan, was described to mourners as an avid hockey player, cook, camper and fisherman who had a cabin in northern Ontario.
May 03: Petty Officer Second Class Craig Blake, 37, had been on foot with other members of his explosives-disposal team, a few hundred metres from the gate of the Sperwan Ghar base in Panjwaii district. Blast investigators determined that the IED was "command detonated," meaning it was set off by a watching insurgent. Two other Canadian soldiers were injured, one very seriously, in the IED attack. Blake of Simcoe, Ont., arrived in Afghanistan last month for his first tour of duty in the country. As an explosives-disposal operator, he was tasked with defusing IEDs. A competitive triathlete and pee wee hockey coach, Blake was a married father of two.
Apr. 11: Pte. Tyler William Todd, 26, was on a foot patrol when he was killed by improvised-explosive device (IED) blast in Dand district of Afghanistan. He was on his first tour in Afghanistan, after serving in the army since 2007, Todd had the perilous job of driving a light-armoured vehicle on southern Afghanistan’s IED-ridden routes. Todd was born in Kitchener, Ont. and was posted in Edmonton with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, was patrolling in Belanday village when the IED exploded. Another soldier was also wounded, who watched the ramp ceremony from a wheelchair beside the plane that would fly Todd’s body toward home.
Mar. 20: Mar Cpl. Darren James Fitzpatrick, 21, was on patrol with Afghan National Army soldiers in the Zhari district of southern Afghanistan on March 6 when he was injured by the bomb. Fitzpatrick, a member of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, was on his first tour of Afghanistan since he joined the Canadian Forces in 2006. Since October, he had served with the Operational Mentor Liaison Team, which helps train members of the Afghan National Army. Fitzpatrick was from Prince George, B.C. He is the second soldier to die in Canada from injuries suffered in Afghanistan.
Feb. 13: Cpl. Joshua Caleb Baker, 24, died in an explosion during a ‘routine’ training exercise at a range four kilometres north of Kandahar City. The death of the reservist with the Loyal Edmonton Regiment is the first time in eight years that a Canadian has been killed during a training accident in Afghanistan. Most of those who have died have been killed by improvised explosive devices. Baker is the ninth reservist to die in active duty in Afghanistan. The military was particularly tight-lipped about the death, which is being probed by senior officials. Four other Canadian soldiers were also injured in the accident. Friends in Canada said Baker was planning to become a police officer after his tour in Afghanistan. He had recently applied to the Edmonton police and was also considering applying in Toronto, friends said.
Jan. 10: Sgt. John Wayne Faught, 44, stepped on a homemade landmine while leading his section on a joint foot patrol with Afghan army troops, near the village of Nakhoney in Panjwaii District,about 15 kilometres southwest of Kandahar City, which Canadian forces seized from Taliban-control without a fight late last year. He was from the Edmonton-based 1 Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. ‘A career soldier’ and ‘family man’ from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., became the first Canadian killed in action in Afghanistan in 2010. He was on his third tour in Afghanistan and was due to return home in June. Faught, has also served in Bosnia during his 23 years in the military. Faught left behind his mother, Donna, a sister in Toronto and a girlfriend in Thunder Bay, Ont.
2009
Dec. 30: Sgt. George Miok, 28, was killed when his armoured vehicle hit an improvised explosive device four kilometres south of Kandahar City. Miok was a member of 41 Combat Engineer Regiment and serving with the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team. Four other Canadian soldiers were also killed along with Canwest News Service journalist Michelle Lang. Miok, the Edmonton-based reservist was also a teacher who had spent the 2008-09 school year at St. Cecilia’s Junior High School in Edmonton. In addition to his duties as a reservist, he also bartended at the Rose and Crown, a downtown Edmonton pub.
Dec. 30: Sgt. Kirk Taylor, 28, was killed when his armoured vehicle hit an improvised explosive device four kilometres south of Kandahar City. Taylor, based in Yarmouth, N.S., was known as “Sgt. Morale” because of his sense of humour and calm demeanour. Taylor was the first member of the 84 Independent Field Battery to die in combat in at least 40 years. Four other Canadian soldiers were also killed along with Canwest News Service journalist Michelle Lang.
Dec. 30: Cpl. Zachery McCormack, 21, was killed when his armoured vehicle hit an improvised explosive device four kilometres south of Kandahar City. He was a member of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment, 4th Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton and serving with the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team. McCormack, based in Edmonton, was remembered as a team player who was passionate about his family and looking forward to soon marrying his fiancee. Four other Canadian soldiers were also killed along with Canwest News Service journalist Michelle Lang.
Dec. 30: Pte. Garrett William Chidley, 21, was killed when his armoured vehicle hit an improvised explosive device four kilometres south of Kandahar City. Four other Canadian soldiers were also killed along with Canwest News Service journalist Michelle Lang. Chidley, born in Cambridge, Ont., and raised in Langley, B.C., could always beat his friends and fellow soldiers at video games. Chidley was deployed to Afghanistan in September and it was his first deployment abroad.
Dec. 23: Lt. Andrew Richard Nuttall, 30, died when an improvised explosive device detonated as he led a foot patrol in the dangerous Panjwaii district southwest of Kandahar City. An Afghan National Army soldier was killed in the blast and an Afghan interpreter was injured. The former University of Victoria student left for Afghanistan in October for a six-month tour with the Edmonton-based 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. This was his first tour of duty in Afghanistan since joining the military in 2007.
Oct. 30: Sapper Steven Marshall, 24, had been in Afghanistan less than one week in what was to have been a six-month tour, when he died while on patrol in Panjwaii District about 10 kilometres southwest of Kandahar City. Marshall was a combat engineer with the 11th Field Squadron, 1st Combat Engineer Regiment. The unit is attached to the Edmonton-based 1 Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry battle group, which only took over from the Quebec-based Royal 22nd Regiment two weeks ago. No other Canadians were wounded in the incident.
Oct. 28: Lt. Justin Garrett Boyes, 26, of Saskatchewan, was killed by a homemade bomb planted while on a morning foot patrol with Afghan National Police about 20 kilometres southwest of Kandahar City. The infantryman was from the Edmonton-based, 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. Two other Canadians were wounded in the explosion, but have been listed in good condition.
Sept. 17: Pte. Jonathan Couturier, 23, was killed when a Canadian armoured vehicle struck an improvised explosive device about 25 kilometres southwest of Kandahar City in Panjwaii district. Eleven other soldiers suffered slight injuries. Couturier was a member of the 2nd Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment. He was born in Loretteville, just outside Quebec City. He left for Afghanistan in April 2009 for his first tour of duty abroad.
Sept. 13: Pte. Patrick Lormand, 21, was killed when a Canadian armoured vehicle struck an improvised explosive device. Four other Canadian soldiers received minor injuries in the blast, and were treated and released from hospital. Lormand – known as ‘Lorm’ to his buddies – was a member of the 2nd Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment Battle Group based in Valcartier, Que.
Sept. 6: Corporal Jean-Francois Drouin, 31, of Quebec City, was killed along with a second soldier, Major Yannick Pepin, 36, when their armoured vehicle struck a roadside bomb. Drouin and his battalion were finishing up a six-moth tour, where their duty was to seek out and defuse roadside bombs. Five other soldiers were injured in the blast, and their condition was described as not serious.
Sept. 6: Major Yannick Pepin, 36, of Victoriaville, Quebec, and a second soldier, Corporal Jean-Francois Drouin, 31, were killed when their armoured vehicle struck a roadside bomb. Drouin and his battalion were finishing up a six-moth tour, where their duty was to seek out and defuse roadside bombs. Pepin was the most senior-ranked officer to die in combat in Afghanistan. Five other soldiers were injured in the blast.
Aug 1: Sapper Matthieu Allard, 21, died when an improvised explosive device blew up Saturday as they investigated another IED in Senjaray, a village located approximately 30 kilometres west of Kandahar City with a heavy Taliban presence. Allard was a combat engineer, served with the 5th Combat Engineers Regiment from Valcartier, Que. It is attached to the 2nd Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment battle group, which was into the fifth month of a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan. Another Canadian soldier, Cpl. Christian Bobbitt, 23, also died in the same incident.
Aug 1: Cpl. Christian Bobbitt, 23, died when an improvised explosive device blew up Saturday as they investigated another IED in Senjaray, a village located approximately 30 kilometres west of Kandahar City with a heavy Taliban presence. Allard was a combat engineer, served with the 5th Combat Engineers Regiment from Valcartier, Que. It is attached to the 2nd Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment battle group, which was into the fifth month of a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan. Another Canadian soldier, Sapper Matthieu Allard, 21, also died in the same incident.
July 16: Pte. Sebastien Courcy, 26, based in CFB Valcariter, Quebec, north of Quebec City, died when he stepped in an explosive device and then fell off a cliff. Courcy was taking part in a three-day effort designed to clear the area of Taliban bomb-making facilities. He had joined the military in 2006 and was on his first deployment.
July 6: Cpl. Martin Joannette, 25, based in Valcartier, Quebec, was killed in Griffin helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Military officials ruled out enemy fire, suggesting human error or mechanical failure. A second Canadian soldier, Master Cpl. Paul Audet, 38, and a British soldier were also killed.
July 6: Master Cpl. Paul Audet, 38, based in Valcartier, Quebec, was killed in Griffin helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Military officials ruled out enemy fire, suggesting human error or mechanical failure. A second Canadian soldier, Cpl. Martin Joannette, 25, and a British soldier were also killed.
July 4: Master Cpl. Charles-Philippe Michaud, 28, a native of Edmundston, N.B., died after sustaining injuries in a roadside bomb blast on June 23, 2009. He never regained consciousness and dies in Quebec City. He was serving with the 2nd Battalion of the Royal 22nd Regiment, also known as the Van Doos and was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan.
July 3: Cpl. Nicholas Bulger, 30, hailed from Peterborough, Ont., and was with the Edmonton-based 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. He was in a convoy which was transporting Canada’s top soldier in Afghanistan when it hit a roadside bomb, killing him and injuring five others.
June 14: Cpl. Martin Dube, 35, was a member of the 5e Regiment du Genie de Combat, combat engineers based at Canadian Forces Base Valcartier near Quebec City. He was serving as a member of the Joint Task Force Headquarters. He died while trying to defuse an improvised explosive device planted by insurgents, which according to reports was in a culvert beneath a roadway about 20 kilometres southwest of Kandahar City.
June 08: Pte. Alexandre Peloquin, 20, a member of 3rd battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment Battle Group, was serving with the 2nd battalion of the Quebec-based regiment in the volatile Panjwaii District. He was on a foot patrol when an explosive device detonated in a hotbed of insurgency south-west of Kandahar City.
April 23: Maj. Michelle Mendes, 30, with Canada’s Task Force Kandahar headquarters, based in Ottawa, died from a non-battle injury that did not involve enemy action.
April 13: Trooper Karine Blais, 21, with the 12th Armoured Regiment based in Val Cartier, Que., was killed in action when her vehicle was hit by a homemade bomb.
March 20: Master Cpl. Scott Vernelli of the 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, and Pte. Tyler Crooks of 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, died when they were hit by an IED while on a foot patrol in western Zahri District as part of Operation Jaley. An Afghan interpreter was also killed. Five other soldiers from November Company were wounded as was another Afghan interpreter. About two hours later, Trooper Jack Bouthillier and Trooper Corey Hayes from a reconnaissance squadron of the Petawawa-based Royal Canadian Dragoons died when their armoured vehicle struck an IED in Shah Wali Khot District about 20 kilometres northeast of Kandahar. Three other Dragoons were wounded in the same blast.
March 8: Troooper Marc Diab, 22, with the Royal Canadian Dragoons based in Petawawa was killed by a roadside bomb north of Kandahar City.
March 3: Warrant Officer Dennis Raymond Brown, a reservist from The Lincoln and Welland Regiment, based in St. Catharines, Ont., Cpl. Dany Olivier Fortin from the 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron at 3 Wing, based in Bagotville, Que., and Cpl. Kenneth Chad O’Quinn, from 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group Headquarters and Signals Squadron, in Petawawa, Ont., were killed when an IED detonated near their armoured vehicle northwest of Kandahar.
Jan. 31: Sapper Sean Greenfield,25, was killed when and IED hit his armoured vehicle while driving in the Zhari district, west of Kandahar. He was with the 2 Combat Engineer Regiment based in Petawawa.
Jan. 7: Trooper Brian Richard Good, 42, died when the armoured vehicle he was traveling in was struck by an improvised explosive devise, or IED. Three other soldiers were injured in the blast, which occurred around 8 a.m. in the Shahwali Kot district, about 35 kilometres north of Kandahar City.
2008
Dec. 27: Warrant Officer Gaetan Joseph Maxime Roberge and Sgt. Gregory John Kruse died in a bomb blast while they were conducting a security patrol in the Panjwaii district, west of Kandahar City. Their Afghan interpreter and a member of the Afghan National Army were also killed. Three other Canadian soldiers were injured in the blast.
Dec. 26: Pte. Michael Bruce Freeman, 28, was killed after his armoured vehicle was struck by an explosive device in the Zhari dessert, west of Kandahar City. Three other soldiers were injured in the blast.
Dec. 13: Three soldiers were killed by an IED west of Kandahar City after responding to reports of people planting a suspicious object. Cpl. Thomas James Hamilton, 26, Pte. John Michael Roy Curwin, 26, and Pte. Justin Peter Jones, 21, members of 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment from CFB Gagetown, N.B., died.
Dec: 5: An IED kills W.O. Robert Wilson, 38, Cpl Mark McLaren, 23, and Pte Demetrios Diplaros, 25, all members of the 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment based in Petawawa, Ont. All three are from Ontario – Keswick, Peterborough and Scarborough respectively.
Sept 7: Sgt. Prescott (Scott) Shipway, 36, was killed by an IED just days away from completing his second tour of Afghanistan and on the same day the federal election is called. Shipway, a section commander with 2nd battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry based out of Winnipeg, was killed in the Panjwaii district. He is from Saskatchewan.
Sept. 3: Corporals Andrew (Drew) Grenon, 23, of Windsor, Ont., and Mike Seggie, 21, of Winnipeg and Pte. Chad Horn, 21, of Calgary, infantrymen with the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry from CFB Shilo, where killed in a Taliban ambush. Five other soldiers were injured in the attack.
Aug. 20: Three combat engineers attached to 2nd Battalion Batallion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in Edmonton are killed by an IED in Zhari district. Sgt. Shawn Eades, 34, of Hamilton, Ont., Cpl. Dustin Roy Robert Joseph Wasden,25, of the Spiritwood, Sask., area, and Sapper Stephan John Stock, 25, of Campbell River, B.C. A fourth soldier was seriously injured.
Aug. 13: Jacqueline Kirk and Shirley Case, who were in Afghanistan with the International Rescue Committee, died in Afghanistan’s Logar province after the car they were riding in was ambushed. Kirk, 40, was a dual British-Canadian citizen from Outremont, Que. Case, 30, was from Williams Lake, B.C.
Aug. 11: Master Cpl. Erin Doyle, 32, of Kamloops, B.C., an Edmonton-based soldier of 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, was killed in a firefight in Panjwaii district.
Aug. 9: Master Cpl. Josh Roberts, 29, a native of Saskatchewan and a member of 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry based in Shilo, Man., died during a firefight involving a private security company in the Zhari district, west of Kandahar City. The death is under investigation.
July 18: Cpl. James Hayward Arnal of Winnipeg, an infantryman with 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, was rushed from the patrol in the volatile Panjwaii district to Kandahar Airfield, where he died from his injuries sustained from an IED.
July 5: Pte. Colin William Wilmot, a medic with 1 Field Ambulance and attached to 2nd Battalion Batallion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry from Edmonton, stepped on an IED while on foot patrol in the Panjwaii district.
July 4: Cpl Brendan Anthony Downey died at Camp Mirage in an undisclosed country in the Arabian Peninsula of non-combat injuries. He was in his quarters at the time. Downey, 36, was a military police officer with 17 Wing Detachment, Dundurn, Sask.
June 7: Capt. Jonathan Sutherland Snyder, a member of 1 Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry based in Edmonton, died after falling into a well while on a security patrol in the Zhari district.
June 3: Capt. Richard Leary, 32, was killed when his patrol came under small arms fire while on foot patrol west of Kandahar City. Leary, "Stevo" to his friends, and a member of 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, was based at CFB Shilo, Man.
May 6: Cpl. Michael Starker of the 15 Field Ambulance was fatally wounded during a foot patrol in the Pashmul region of the Afghanistan’s Zhari district. Starker, 36, was a Calgary paramedic on his second tour in Afghanistan. He was part of a civil-military co-operation unit that did outreach in local villages. Another soldier, who was not identified, was wounded in the incident.
April 4: Pte. Terry John Street, of Surrey, B.C., and based with 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in Shilo, Man., was killed when his armoured vehicle hit an improvised explosive device to the southwest of Kandahar City.
March 16: Sgt. Jason Boyes of Napanee, Ont., based with 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in Shilo, Man., was killed when he steps on a buried explosive device while on foot patrol in the Zangabad region in Panjwaii District.
March 11: Bombardier Jeremie Ouellet, 22, of Matane, Que., died in his quarters at Kandahar Airfield. He was with the 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. His death is under investigation by the National Investigative Service.
March 2: Trooper Michael Yuki Hayakaze, 25, of Edmonton was killed by an IED just days before his tour was scheduled to end. He was in a vehicle about 45 kilometres west of the Kandahar base. He was a member of the Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians).
Jan. 23: Sapper Etienne Gonthier, 21, of St-George-de-Beauce, Que., and based with 5e Regiment du genie de combat in Val Cartier, Que. was killed and two others wounded in an incident involving a roadside bomb.
Jan. 15: Trooper Richard Renaud from Alma, Que., was killed and a second Canadian soldier was injured when their armoured vehicle hit a roadside bomb Tuesday in Kandahar’s Zhari district. Renaud, 26, of the 12eme Regiment blinde du Canada in Valcartier, Que., and three other soldiers were on a routine patrol in the Arghandab region, about 10 Kilometres north of Kandahar City, when their Coyote reconnaissance vehicle struck the improvised explosive device.
Jan. 6: Cpl. Eric Labbe, 31, of Rimouski, Que., and Warrant Officer Hani Massouh died when their light armoured vehicle rolled over in Zhari district.
2007
Dec. 30: Jonathan Dion, 27, a gunner from Val d’Or, Que., died and four others were injured after their armoured vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Zhari district.
Nov. 17: Cpl. Nicholas Raymond Beauchamp, of the 5th Field Ambulance, and Pte. Michel Levesque, of the Royal 22nd Regiment, both based in Valcartier, Que., were killed when a roadside bomb exploded near their LAV-III armoured vehicle in Zhari district.
Sept. 25: Cpl Nathan Hornburg, 24, of the Kings Own Calgary Regiment, was killed by mortar fire while trying to repair the track of a Leopard tank during an operation in the Panjwaii district.
Aug. 29: Maj. Raymond Ruckpaul, serving at the NATO coalition headquarters in Kabul, died after being found shot in his room. ISAF and Canadian officials have said they had not ruled out suicide, homicide or accident as the cause of death. Ruckpaul was an armoured officer based at the NATO Allied Land Component Command Headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany. His hometown and other details have not been released.
Aug. 22: Two Canadian soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb. Master Warrant Officer Mario Mercier of 2nd Battalion Batallion, Royal 22nd Regiment, based in Valcartier, Que., and Master Cpl. Christian Duchesne, a member of Fifth Ambulance de campagne, also based in Valcartier, died when the vehicle they were in struck a suspected mine, approximately 50 kilometres west of Kandahar City during Operation EAGLE EYE. An Afghan interpreter was also killed and a third soldier and two Radio Canada journalists were injured.
Aug. 19: Pte. Simon Longtin, 23, died when the LAV-III armoured vehicle he was travelling in struck an improvised explosive device.
July 4: Six Canadian soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle. The dead are Capt. Matthew Johnathan Dawe, Cpl. Cole Bartsch, Cpl. Jordan Anderson and Pte. Lane Watkins, all of 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton, and Master-Cpl. Colin Bason, a reservist from The Royal Westminster Regiment and Capt. Jefferson Clifford Francis of 1 Royal Canadian Horse Artillery based in Shilo Man.
June 20: Three soldiers from 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, died when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device. Sgt. Christos Karigiannis, Cpl. Stephen Bouzane, 26, and Pte. Joel Wiebe, 22 were on a re-supply mission, travelling between two checkpoints in an open, all-terrain vehicle, not an armoured vehicle.
June 11: Trooper Darryl Caswell, 2nd Battalion Royal Canadian Dragoons, was killed by a roadside bomb that blew up near the vehicle hewas travelling in, while on patrol about 40 minutes north of Kandahar city. He was part of a resupply mission.
May 30: Master Cpl. Darrell Jason Priede, a combat cameraman, died when an American helicopter he was aboard crashed in Afghanistan’s volatile Helmand province, reportedly after being shot at by Taliban fighters. Priede was from CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick.
May 25: Cpl. Matthew McCully, a signals operator from 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group Headquarters and Signals Squadron, based at Petawawa, Ont., was killed while on foot patrol and another soldier was injured when a roadside bomb exploded near them during a major operation to clear out Taliban. The soldier, a member of the mentorship and liaison team, is believed to have stepped on an improvised explosive device.
April 18: Master Cpl. Anthony Klumpenhouwer, 25, a special forces member, died from injuries sustained in an accidental fall from a communications tower in Kandahar, Afghanistan. It is the first death of a special forces member while on duty in Afghanistan.
April 11: Master Cpl. Allan Stewart, 30, and Trooper Patrick Pentland, 23, were killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan. Both men were members of the Royal Canadian Dragoons based at CFB Petawawa, Ont.
April 8: Six Canadian soldiers died in southern Afghanistan as a result of injuries sustained when the vehicle they were travelling in hit an explosive device. Sgt. Donald Lucas, Cpl. Aaron E. Williams, Cpl. Brent Poland, Pte. Kevin Vincent Kennedy, Pte. David Robert Greenslade, 2nd Battalion The Royal Canadian Regiment, based in Gagetown, N.B. were killed in the blast. Cpl. Christopher Paul Stannix, a reservist from the Princess Louise Fusiliers, based in Halifax, also died. One other soldier was seriously injured.
March 6: Cpl. Kevin Megeney, 25, a reservist from Stellarton, N.S., died in an accidental shooting. He was shot through the chest and left lung. Megeney went to Afghanistan in the fall as a volunteer with 1st Batallion, Nova Scotia Highlanders Militia.
2006
Nov. 27: Two Canadian soldiers were killed on the outskirts of Kandahar when a suicide car bomber attacked a convoy of military vehicles. Cpl. Albert Storm, 36, of Niagara Falls, Ont., and Chief Warrant Officer Robert Girouard, 46, from Bouctouche, N.B., were members of the Royal Canadian Regiment based in Petawawa, Ont. They were in an armoured personnel carrier that had just left the Kandahar Airfield base when a vehicle approached and detonated explosives.
Oct. 14: Sgt. Darcy Tedford and Pte. Blake Williamson from 1st Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment in Petawawa, Ont., were killed and three others wounded after troops in Kandahar province came under attack by Taliban insurgents wielding rocket propelled grenades and mortars, according to media reports. The troops were trying to build a road in the region when the ambush attack occurred.
Oct. 7: Trooper Mark Andrew Wilson, a member of the Royal Canadian Dragoons of Petawawa, Ont., died after a roadside bomb or IED exploded under a Nyala armoured vehicle. Wilson was a gunner in the Nyala vehicle. The blast occurred in the Pashmul region of Afghanistan.
Oct. 3: Cpl. Robert Thomas James Mitchell and Sgt. Craig Paul Gillam were killed in an attack in southern Afghanistan as they worked to clear a route for a future road construction project. Both were members of the Petawawa, Ont.-based Royal Canadian Dragoons.
Sept. 29: Pte. Josh Klukie was killed by an improvised explosive device while he was conducting a foot patrol in a farm field in the Panjwaii district. Klukie, of Thunder Bay, Ont., was serving in the First Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment.
Sept. 18: Four soldiers were killed when a suicide bomber riding a bicycle detonated explosives in the Panjwaii area. Cpl. Shane Keating, Cpl. Keith Morley and Pte. David Byers, 22, all members of 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry from Shilo, Man., and Cpl. Glen Arnold, a member of 2 Field Ambulance, from Petawawa, Ont., were killed in the attack that wounded several others.
Sept. 4: Pte. Mark Anthony Graham, a member of 1st Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment, based at CFB Petawawa, Ont., killed and dozens of others wounded in a friendly fire incident involving an American A-10 Warthog aircraft. Graham was a Canadian Olympic team member in 1992, when he raced as a member of the 4 x 400 metre relay team.
Sept. 3: Four Canadian soldiers – Warrant Officer Richard Francis Nolan, Warrant Officer Frank Robert Mellish, Sgt. Shane Stachnik and Pte. William Jonathan James Cushley, all based at CFB Petawawa, west of Ottawa, were killed as insurgents disabled multiple Canadian vehicles with small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. Nine other Canadians were wounded in the fighting that killed an estimated 200 Taliban members.
Aug. 22: Canadian Cpl. David Braun, a recently arrived soldier with 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, was killed by a suicide bomber outside the gates of Camp Nathan Smith in Kandahar City. The soldier, in his 20s, was a native of Raymore, Sask. Three other Canadian soldiers were injured in the afternoon attack.
Aug. 11: Cpl. Andrew James Eykelenboom died during an attack by a suicide bomber on a Canadian convoy that was resupplying a forward fire base south of Kandahar near the border with Pakistan. A medic with the 1st Field Ambulance based in Edmonton, he was in his mid 20s and had been in the Canadian Forces for four years.
Aug. 9: Master Cpl. Jeffrey Scott Walsh, based out of Shilo, Man., with 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, was shot in a friendly fire incident, just days after arriving in Kandahar to begin his tour of duty. He arrived in Kandahar less than a week earlier.
Aug. 5: Master Cpl. Raymond Arndt of the Edmonton-based Loyal Edmonton Regiment was killed when a G-Wagon making a supply run collided with a civilian truck. Three other Loyal Edmonton Regiment soldiers were also injured in the crash: Cpl. Jared Gagnon of Sherwood Park, Cpl. Ashley Van Leeuwen of St. Paul and Pte. Adam Keen of Edmonton.
Aug. 3: Cpl. Christopher Jonathan Reid, based in Edmonton with the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, was killed in a roadside bomb attack. Later the same day, Sgt. Vaughn Ingram, Cpl. Bryce Jeffrey Keller and Pte. Kevin Dallaire were killed by a rocket-propelled grenade as they took on militants around an abandoned school near Pashmul. Six other Canadian soldiers were injured in the attack.
July 22: A suicide bomber blew himself up in Kandahar, killing two Canadian soldiers and wounding eight more; the slain soldiers were Cpl. Francisco Gomez, an anti-armour specialist from the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in Edmonton, who was driving the Bison armoured vehicle targeted by the bomber’s vehicle, and Cpl. Jason Patrick Warren of the Black Watch in Montreal.
July 9: Cpl. Anthony Joseph Boneca, a reservist with the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment based in Thunder Bay, Ont., was killed as Canadian military and Afghan security forces were pushing through an area west of Kandahar City that had been a hotbed of Taliban activity.
May 17: Capt. Nichola Goddard, a combat engineer with the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery and Canada’s first female combat death, was killed during battle against Taliban forces in the Panjwaii region, 24 kilometres west of Kandahar.
April 22: Four soldiers were killed when their armoured vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb near Gombad, north of Kandahar. They were Cpl. Matthew Dinning, stationed at Petawawa, Ont.; Bombardier Myles Mansell, based in Victoria; Lieut. William Turner, stationed in Edmonton, and Cpl. Randy Payne of CFB Wainwright, Alta.
March 28-29: Pte. Robert Costall was killed in a firefight with Taliban insurgents in the desert north of Kandahar. A U.S. soldier and a number of Afghan troops also died and three Canadians were wounded. Costall was a member of 1st Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton. An American inquiry, made public in the summer of 2007, determined Costall was killed by friendly fire.
March 5: Master Cpl. Timothy Wilson of Grande Prairie, Alta., succumbed to injuries suffered in the LAV III crash on March 2 in Afghanistan. Wilson died in hospital in Germany.
March 2: Cpl. Paul Davis died and six others were injured when their LAV III collided with a civilian taxi just west of Kandahar during a routine patrol. The soldiers were with 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.
Jan. 15: Diplomat Glyn Berry was killed and three soldiers injured by a suicide bomber in Kandahar. They were patrolling in a G Wagon.
2005:
Nov. 24: Pte. Braun Scott Woodfield, Royal Canadian Regiment, was killed in a traffic accident involving his light-armoured vehicle (LAV III) northeast of Kandahar. Three others soldiers suffered serious injuries.
2004:
Jan. 27: Cpl. Jamie Murphy died and three soldiers were injured by a suicide bomber while patrolling near Camp Julien in an Iltis jeep. All were members of the Royal Canadian Regiment.
2003:
Oct. 2: Sgt. Robert Alan Short and Cpl. Robbie Christopher Beerenfenger were killed and three others injured when their Iltis jeep struck a roadside bomb outside Camp Julien near Kabul. They were from 3rd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment.
2002:
April 18: Sgt. Marc Leger, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, Pte. Richard Green and Pte. Nathan Smith were killed by friendly fire when an American fighter jet dropped a laser-guided 225-kilogram bomb on the soldiers during a training exercise near Kandahar. All served with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.
© Copyright (c) Postmedia News
Man tortured ‘every single day’ in Calgary for over a year hopes to resettle to Victoria
In Canada on August 30, 2010 at 19:41A 26-year-old torture victim says he was beaten "every single day" before being dropped off at a Regina hospital mutilated, emaciated and brain-damaged.
But after more than four months in hospital and rehabilitation, the man at the centre of a gruesome Calgary case that has made headlines across Western Canada says he "can’t wait" to fly today to Victoria, where he will live with his mother.
Evidence of the brutal assaults — which police say happened in Calgary between Dec. 1, 2008, and March 2, 2010 — was apparent as soon as the victim was dumped at the hospital in April.
He weighed only 90 pounds and had a horrific range of injuries: his face was smashed and his lower lip and part of his tongue were reportedly missing.
"It has been way too much healing for me," the man, who isn’t being named, said Sunday. "I just can’t wait to get out. I’ve been here for such a long time."
In the past four months, the man has gone from needing help with everyday tasks to being able to shave and eat on his own, speak clearly and move with the help of a walker, so long as a nurse is present. He is also back up to a normal body weight as he nears 200 pounds.
His face is fuller now than it appeared in photos taken when he first arrived in hospital, and the distant, glassy look in his eyes is gone.
"I’m healing quicker than everybody else would think," he said. "I just heal fast, I guess. It’s motivation and hard work. They don’t ever have enough hard work for me to do. Maybe that’s because I used to be a workaholic."
Dustin Ward Paxton, the man’s former roommate, was arrested Tuesday in Edmonton and appeared before a Calgary judge via closed-circuit TV on Friday.
Paxton is charged with aggravated assault, forcible confinement and sexual assault.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Friday.
The victim said he was relieved to hear of an arrest.
Since word of his story started to spread, support has poured in for the victim — a Facebook group has drawn nearly 50,000 members and he said he regularly receives cards and well-wishes from people he has never met.
Now the man plans to continue his recovery at his mother’s Victoria home.
While there are no set time-lines as to when he might start living more independently, he said he is happy to take this first step.
"It’s all I hear is hospital care, hospital care," he said, adding he can’t wait to get back to working and eventually wants to start his own landscaping company.
He said his family has been a constant source of support, travelling from Manitoba and B.C. for visits in Regina.
"They have been very important," he said. "They’ve been with me and stuck through this thing through the whole time, which blows my mind."
He also credited the nurses for his quick recovery.
The man hopes his story might now help others who are recovering from trauma.
"You just have to work hard and give everything 100 per cent," he said.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Liberals blast NDP on gun registry as Tories pour salt in wound
In Canada on August 30, 2010 at 19:40
Monday, August 30, 2010 2:59 PM
Liberals blast NDP on gun registry
as Tories pour salt in woundJane Taber
BADDECK, N.S. – Blame Jack Layton if the gun registry dies, the Liberals say. And blame the NDP and the Liberals if the program survives, the Tories counter.
The firearms program, long a divisive topic across the country, had opposition parties sniping at each other Monday in Ottawa and on the East Coast, where Liberals are gathering to strategize in advance of the fall sitting of Parliament.
“If the gun registry dies on Sept. 22 it is because Jack Layton and the NDP failed to show leadership,” Nova Scotia Liberal MP Geoff Regan charged. He was reacting to Mr. Layton’s refusal Monday to force his MPs to halt Tory legislation that would kill the registry.
“In fact Mr. Layton is suggesting that the NDP would improve the gun registry after you allow it to be killed,” he said. “It’s an utterly ridiculous suggestion and he knows that.”
Eight Liberal MPs and 12 NDP MPs voted in favour of Conservative MP Candice Hoeppner’s private members’ bill to scrap the registry. That vote, which took place last year, allowed the bill to be sent to committee for study.
Since then, however, Michael Ignatieff has whipped his caucus, ordering Liberal MPs to vote against the Hoeppner bill.
Mr. Layton has decided not to whip the vote and it’s not clear how many of the 12 New Democrats who originally supported the Tories will continue to support them in scrapping the registry. Without all of the NDP support it is doubtful the registry will survive.
The NDP Leader’s announcement also prompted Tory reaction. Harper strategists issued a memo to supporters mocking Mr. Layton and attempting to reinforce the notion of a “coalition” between Liberals and New Democrats.
The spectre of a coalition makes Canadians nervous, Tories say. In their memo, they note that Mr. Layton’s so-called “compromise bill” on the registry “strangely, looks just like the one Michael Ignatieff has proposed.”
Mr. Ignatieff has put forward a bill the Liberals would table were they to form government. It takes away some of the harsher penalties for those who do not immediately register their firearms.
“In effect, rhetoric aside, both Coalition leaders intend to keep the wasteful and ineffective $2 billion long-gun registry,’ the Tories say. They conclude that neither the NDP nor the Liberals care about rural voters. “Rural Canada: either its voice is important, or it isn’t.”
Latest Comments
14-year-olds lead police on high-speed chase in stolen Hummer
In Canada on August 30, 2010 at 19:3914-year-olds lead police on high-speed chase in Hummer
Kevin Gallagher August 30, 2010 – 12:27 pm
Three 14-year-olds driving a stolen Hummer eluded Burlington OPP during a high speed highway pursuit Saturday, only to be caught at a restaurant in Hamilton.
The SUV was reported stolen in Niagara region. The vehicle was later spotted on the Queen Elizabeth Way heading westbound.
Several attempts were made by the OPP to intercept the rugged vehicle but the young assailants allegedly collided with police cars trying to impede their progress. In total, three police cruisers were damaged during the chase.
The OPP ended the pursuit for public safety after the 14-year-old driver speed off the Burlington Street exit in Hamilton. Shortly after Hamilton Police spotted the stolen SUV in a mall parking lot east of Hamilton.
The boys were arrested after their descriptions were phoned into Hamilton Police. They were apprehended at a restaurant in the mall.
One was released into the custody of their primary caregiver and the other two will appear in a Milton courtroom today.
The two 14-year-olds face charges of mischief endangering life, dangerous driving, possession of stolen property and breaching probation.
Posted in: Crime, Mississauga & GTA, Posted Toronto Tags: OPP, Ontario Provincial Police
Layton walks a political tightrope with gun registry compromise plan
In Canada on August 30, 2010 at 19:33OTTAWA — The fate of Canada’s long-gun registry is increasingly uncertain, after NDP Leader Jack Layton revealed Monday his party will table a bill in Parliament next month aimed at forging a compromise to satisfy the legitimate concerns of rural gun owners and those of city-dwellers fearful of crime.
But Layton, faced with a caucus divided over the issue, reiterated that if his proposed compromise falls flat, he still won’t force New Democrat MPs to vote down a Conservative MP’s bill that would abolish the long-gun registry. And if that happens, he suggested he’s ready to take criticism that his party is responsible for the death of the registry because he refused to "whip" his caucus into voting as a solid bloc.
Within hours of Layton floating his proposal, Conservatives and Liberals were signalling they don’t think the NDP compromise will make much, if any, difference. However, at least one New Democrat MP who had previously voted for the controversial bill praised Layton and said the Tories shouldn’t assume they will continue to have his support.
On Sept. 22, the bill faces a key vote on a motion calling for it to be defeated. If that motion fails, MPs will hold a final vote on the bill within days.
Meanwhile, the politically explosive debate was given an extra dose of controversy Monday, as the RCMP released an evaluation report which gives high marks to the Canadian Firearms Program for being "cost-effective in reducing firearms-related crime and promoting public safety."
About a dozen NDP MPs are believed to be considering siding with the Tories on their plan to pass the private member’s bill by Conservative MP Candice Hoeppner. Several Liberal MPs had once been supportive of the bill, but Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has said he will "whip" his caucus into voting as a group against the bill.
Layton said that when Parliament resumes on Sept. 20, his party will table a private member’s bill that addresses "legitimate complaints about the long-gun registry" and strengthens "gun control."
Among the highlights of the NDP plan:
– Penalties for non-registration should start as non-criminal fines
– Aboriginal treaty rights must be protected
– Gun-owners’ privacy needs protection
– There should never be a charge for long-gun registration
– Municipalities should be empowered to, if they choose to do so, ban handguns from their cities.
– Information about people with mental health problems should be shared between firearms programs, police forces and military agencies.
Layton was pressed by reporters on how he expects his party’s bill to pass, when Hoeppner’s bill is lined up for a vote so soon after Parliament resumes. He suggested that if all parties come onside, they could use the bill as a basis to reach a solution — presumably meaning that Hoeppner’s bill would either be amended or would die.
Hoeppner said in an interview that she doesn’t think much of Layton’s compromise, which is similar to a plan Ignatieff has already said the Liberals would enact if they win power.
"It just seems like it’s a smokescreen, a bit of a red herring trying to distract from the real issue, which is: You either support the registry or you vote to end it."
The Liberal caucus was gathering in Baddeck, N.S. Monday, and Layton’s proposal was quickly dismissed.
"If the gun registry dies on Sept. 22 it will be because Jack Layton and the NDP failed to show leadership," said Liberal MP Geoff Regan.
He said Layton’s plan is flawed because it is tantamount to trying to amend the registry after he allows his caucus to participate in killing it.
"Now, how are you going to improve it when it’s dead? It’s an utterly ridiculous suggestion and he should know that."
However, northern Ontario NDP MP Charlie Angus said Layton’s proposal deserves a chance. Angus is a critic of the current registry system, which he says has justifiably concerned rural Canadians. He supported Hoeppner’s bill so it could get an airing at a Commons committee, but said he’s now tired of the Tories refusing to bridge the divide between rural and urban Canadians.
"If they think the intimidation of the rural (NDP) caucus is going to get them their results, I am more and more fed up with it," sad Angus.
"I’m going to continue to work with Jack because I’ve got confidence in this plan. I’m not going to be intimidated by Conservative websites. I’m going to vote for the best way that we can do gun policy in this country."
© Copyright (c) Postmedia News
Stars, City and Colour and Gord Downie headlining TIFF music showcase | TIFF Talk | torontolife.com
In Canada on August 30, 2010 at 14:07
A critical guide to TV, movies, theatre and music, with daily event roundups to max out your social calendar
Stars, City and Colour and Gord Downie headlining TIFF music showcase
We’ll tell you what the poet is doing: Gord Downie plays on September 15 (Image: Matt MacGillivray)
As if we weren’t going to be distracted enough by the dozens of screenings and parties, TIFF has just announced a killer lineup of Canadian indie acts to accompany the festival’s film events. Clubland’s Roosevelt Room will be transformed into the Festival Music House starting September 13 for the official three-day musical component. The venue is billed as a spot where Hollywood execs can scope out Canadian talent.
Montreal rockers Stars headline the opening-night show, followed by City and Colour on September 14 and Tragically Hip front man Gord Downie on September 15. Other notable acts that will be performing include Chilly Gonzales, Basia Bulat, Tokyo Police Club, Hawksley Workman and Zeus. Like almost all of the fun stuff at TIFF, the concerts are by invitation only, but Workman’s cameo in Score: A Hockey Musical is for all to see.
Just a tad more than Mounties, Beavers and Maple Syrup 