Highlights / Month: March 2014

Environment & Animal Life, Health, International

WHO report on killer smog

The World Health Organization (WHO) released a report on Tuesday saying about 8 million people are dying every year because of air pollution. One of the risk is from tiny particles get deep into the lungs causing irritation. The WHO »

Indigenous, Politics

Indigenous band threatens to hold referendum

Mohawks on a reserve which is partly in the province of Quebec say that if that province holds a referendum on separation from Canada, it might hold its own referendum on splitting from Quebec. The issue of a referendum has »

Health, Society

Artificial sports turf: Statistics vs player opinions on non-contact injury

When artificial turf first appeared, many athletes complained of injuries. The surface was hard, and there was no “give” to it when athletes turned or twisted, often resulting in knee or other injuries. Artificial surfaces have vastly improved, but a »

Politics, Society

Western province unprepared for earthquake: audit

Canada’s western province of British Columbia is known to be at risk for a major earthquake but its auditor-general, Russ Jones, says it is unprepared to deal with one. Jones says his office first advised the provincial government about this »

Environment & Animal Life

Canada’s eternal winter

Well not usually, but across the prairies, central  Canada and the maritimes it certainly seems like it this year. It’s now officially spring, and the migrating geese had begun to return, but in at least one location, they changed their »

Society

Human traffickers tough to catch, say experts

New laws to fight human trafficking came into effect in Canada in 2005 but since then there have only been 35 convictions. The offence is described as one in which a person recruits, conceals or otherwise controls a person for »

Politics

Government “loses” more personal data on thousands of Canadians

A government agency is being criticized for losing a hard drive with personal information of almost 600,000 Canadians. The agency, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), reported it could not find a small portable hard drive which had the information »

Politics, Society

MPs focus on issue of vouching for voters, Fair Elections Act

Canadian Members of Parliament questioned one former federal and two provincial chief electoral officers at a House of Commons standing committee looking into the federal government’s proposed Fair Elections Act (Bill C-23) on Tuesday (March 25). The contrast between the »

Health, International, Internet, Science & Technology

Are chemicals in environment causing autistic behaviours?

April 2 is World Autism Day. Autism now affects one in 88 children and one in 54 boys, worldwide, a dramatic increase in a matter of decades. A new study by Canadian and American researchers suggests some common chemicals in »