People in Canada’s eastern province of Newfoundland are known as a hardy lot but relentless, extreme weather events caused electricity failures trying the patience of many left in the cold and the dark. Heavy snowfalls and high winds wreaked havoc… »
Lynn Desjardins
Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Lynn has dedicated her working life to journalism. After decades in the field, she still believes journalism to be a pillar of democracy and she remains committed to telling stories she believes are important or interesting. Lynn loves Canada and embraces all seasons: skiing, skating, and sledding in winter, hiking, swimming and playing tennis in summer and running all the time. She is a voracious consumer of Canadian literature, public radio programs and classical music. Family and friends are most important. Good and unusual foods are fun. She travels when possible and enjoys the wilderness.
Internet, Science & Technology, Society
Technology revolutionizing retail
Shopping is changing dramatically in Canada as retailers use new technology to sell their products. “Shopping and retail is becoming much more of a science,” says Doug Stephens, a consultant who predicts retail trends and is president of Retail Prophet… »
Auditor-general’s French still needs work
Controversy surrounded the appointment of Michael Ferguson as Canada’s auditor-general two years ago because he did not speak French. After an average eight hours a week of lessons his French has improved but he is still not fluent in the… »
Alberta ranked among top tourist destinations
The western Canadian province of Alberta has been ranked ninth among top tourist destinations by the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper. The province includes prairie grassland in the east and towering Rocky Mountains in the west. An artist’s depiction of the proposed… »
Land purchase to enable grizzly bear sex
A threatened population of grizzly bears in the Selkirk Mountains of western Canada may have an easier time hooking up with other grizzlies in the Purcell Mountains now that a conservation group has purchased some land there. It’s important for… »
Keeping food safe during the holidays
Canada may be a cold country, but homes are centrally heated and food kept too long outside the refrigerator can go bad and make people sick. During the holiday season people often lay out foods buffet-style at parties or family… »
Environment & Animal Life, Health, International, Internet, Science & Technology, Society
Demands for public hearings on nuclear waste move
76 convoys of nuclear waste are slated to travel by road over 1,000km between Canada and the U.S. in what Sierra Club Canada calls risky road trips. The highly toxic, weapons-grade uranium is dissolved in nitric acid and will travel… »
Elderly man left in empty house a harbinger
An 89 year-old man was discharged from hospital in Toronto and taken to his empty home instead of the retirement home where he’d come from and had been recovering from knee surgery. Patient advocates say this kind of dangerous situation… »
Extra funding to increase Olympic medals
The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) will increase the money it spends on high performance sports over the next four years in a bid to increase Canada’s Olympic medal count. The funding will go from $25 million spent between 2009 and… »
Environment & Animal Life, Internet, Science & Technology
Replacing salt used on winter roads
Roads in Canada become treacherous when covered with snow and ice, so salt is often used to keep them clear, but it is very corrosive and cities are looking for alternatives. Some trucks will spread a beet product instead of… »
The world in pictures
Canada in pictures
