This is our 48th weekly edition of the Link online as we review some of our stories covered this week.
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On this edition. we start out with a political scandal still raging at the federal level. It started out with concerns that several senators had been making inappropriate expense claims, although one senator Mike Duffy, has been the particular target. The scandal increased when a member of the Prime Ministers staff gave Senator Duffy a huge cheque to pay back to the public purse, the expenses which were in question. This was seen as a move to circumvent and investigation into his expenses and the controversy which now has come close to the ruling conservative govenrnment and the Prime Minister himself, shows no signs of letting up
We also hear about a new method of helping Canadian soldiers deal with the effects of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It’s often tough enough for soldiers to deal with civilain life. They are trained to see things as black and white,relatively clear cut. and then act or react quickly. This often doesn’t fit too well with civilian life with its many shades of grey and fuzzy boundaries . It’s all amplified for a soldier dealing with PTSD, and dealing with the veteran’s mood swings, depression, and anger is also very hard on their families. This new concept has veterans working with horses as the animals give immediate reaction to the veterans actions, tones and even moods. The Can Praxis programme at an Alberta Ranch isn’t designed to cure PTSD, but rather give veterans and their spouses a demonstration of how their actions and moods are affecting others. It provides them with an understanding of how to better judge and control themselves, We hear from one of the co-founders of the programme.
We also hear about what may well be the largest wildlife survey in the world. It’s an annual survey over much of North America to count
waterfowl and ponds and wetlands. It’s an annual survey performed by spotters in aircraft along with others on the ground. Dave Howeter, national manager of research with the Institute for Wetlands and Waterfowl Research for Ducks Unlimited Canada says “We get to understand population trajectories, which populations are growing, which are in decline. We also use this information as the basis for a lot of the planning tools that we build to guide conservation programs.” The numbers also help determine how much hunting should be allowed and give a more general indication of the state of the environment.
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