http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/canada-news/ en-us Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:36:30 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417522/posts I've been fighting against Canada's censorious and corrupt human rights commissions for nearly four years now; it was in February of 2006 that the print edition of the Western Standard, may it rest in peace, reprinted the Danish cartoons of Mohammed to illustrate a news story. The "human rights" nuisance suits against the magazine, and me as its publisher, began immediately after that. But it wasn't until December of 2007, when Maclean's magazine got swiped by the jihadists at the Canadian Islamic Congress, and January of 2008, with my own interrogation at the hands of Alberta's HRC, that I came... Ezra Levant http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417522/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:36:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417263/posts A former mountie is in custody and Ottawa police are mourning one of their own after Const. Eric Czapnik was stabbed to death early Tuesday outside the Civic Campus of the Ottawa Hospital. Czapnik was sitting in his cruiser outside the emergency department at about 4:30 a.m. writing in his notepad after responding to an unrelated call when the suspect approached. The details of what happened next are unclear, but moments later Czapnik had been stabbed and his assailant wrestled to the ground by paramedics as their colleagues administered first aid. Despite being rushed into the hospital for treatment, Czapnik... The Ottawa Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417263/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 23:47:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416818/posts TORONTO - As weary U.S.-bound travellers queued up to face heightened security measures at airports in Toronto, Calgary and Edmonton on Monday, the federal government called in the Mounties to help screen passengers travelling south of the border. A spokesman for the RCMP said the officers will be trying to help clear up the backlog of passengers delayed by new, stricter security measures imposed after a failed terrorist attack on Christmas Day aboard a plane bound for Detroit. New security measures facing travellers include a pat-down by security agents as well as tougher restrictions on what passengers are allowed to... Canadian Press via Sun Media http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416818/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:04:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415708/posts 2009 Fall Report of the Auditor General of Canada – Chapter 5 Acquiring Military Vehicles for Use in Afghanistan – LAV RWSThe Auditor General's report on military vehicle acquisitions reviews DND's procurement of four different vehicle types – the RG-31 Armoured Patrol Vehicle, the AHSVS heavy truck, the Leopard 2 Tank Replacement Project, and the LAV RWS project to convert surplus LAV TUA hulls to ISCs. Here we cover those LAV RWS conversions. The Auditor General's report on the LAV RWS or Light Armoured Vehicle - Remote Weapon Station explains the long delays in a seemingly simple conversion process. More... Canadian American Strategic Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415708/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 13:49:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415631/posts WATERLOO, Ont. (Monday, Dec. 21, 2009) - Cosmic rays and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), both already implicated in depleting the Earth's ozone layer, are also responsible for changes in the global climate, a University of Waterloo scientist reports in a new peer-reviewed paper. In his paper, Qing-Bin Lu, a professor of physics and astronomy, shows how CFCs - compounds once widely used as refrigerants - and cosmic rays - energy particles originating in outer space - are mostly to blame for climate change, rather than carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. His paper, derived from observations of satellite, ground-based and balloon measurements as well... University of Waterloo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415631/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 06:11:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415437/posts Allow me to be the first Jew to say to you "Merry Christmas." Not "season's greetings." Not "happy holidays." Merry Christmas. Nothing added, nothing taken away. Once, not so long ago, the chief challenge for Christians at this time of year was putting Christ back into Christmas -- reminding the faithful that Christmas isn't just about egg nog and presents, but that it was a celebration of the Christian God and His birth. Today, the battle isn't to keep Christ in Christmas -- it's to keep Christmas at all. Foremost in the war to deracinate anything Christian in society is... Ezra Levant http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415437/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 20:46:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415406/posts 'My country seems to be slipping away in front of my very eyes," former NDP campaign director Gerald Caplan wrote in a Dec. 4 op-ed for a Toronto area newspaper. "Our proud identity, our cherished core values ... are being turned upside down. Gun control advocates are out, gun apologists are in. Preventing war is out, killing scumbags is in. Demonstrations for peace are out, demonstrations of a martial spirit are in. Thoughtful, restrained Canadianism is out, hand-on-heart Yankee-style patriotism is in." The National Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415406/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 19:13:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414737/posts The mysterious chancel ceiling at St. John's Anglican Church in Lunenburg, N.S., was reconstructed in 2004 after a fire three years earlier. While locals now know what the star pattern represents, they don't know who originally designed it, or how. (CBC)Parishioners at one of Canada's oldest Anglican churches will be puzzled by an enduring enigma when they gaze heavenward this Christmas.The chancel ceiling at St. John's Anglican Church in Lunenburg, N.S., has a special pattern of gilded stars on it, and while locals now know what it represents, they have yet to find out who originally designed it, or how.The... cbc news http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414737/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:41:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414395/posts Canadian soldier killed by improvised explosive device CEFCOM NR 09.032 - December 23, 2009 OTTAWA — One Canadian soldier and one soldier of the Afghan National Army (ANA) were killed by an improvised explosive device that detonated during a joint foot patrol near the village of Nakhonay in Panjwaii District, about 25 km southwest of Kandahar City, on December 23, 2009. The explosion also injured an Afghan interpreter. Killed in action was Lieutenant Andrew Richard Nuttall, from the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (1 PPCLI), based in Edmonton, Alberta, serving as a member of the 1 PPCLI Battle... DND/Canadian Forces http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414395/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:47:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414351/posts WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Microsoft lost its appeal Tuesday against a lower court ruling that it had infringed the patent of small Canadian software company i4i, proving that the fight is not always to the strong. A three-judge federal appellate panel ordered the software giant to stop sales of its popular Word word processing program in its current form on Jan. 11 and to pay i4i $290 million. "In this case, a small company was practicing its patent, only to suffer a loss of market share, brand recognition, and customer goodwill as the result of the defendant's infringing acts,"... UPI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414351/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 09:17:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414071/posts KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Bolstered by thousands of U.S. troops, Canada's top general in Afghanistan is predicting the Taliban will be marginalized from most of Kandahar's population by the time the Canadian military mission ends in 2011. Brigadier-General Daniel Menard said that with more than 5,000 Canadian and U.S. soldiers under his command, coalition forces will be able to hold areas in the violent province far more effectively than in recent years. "What I can do is marginalize the insurgency in our area and they can become irrelevant to 85% of the population of Kandahar province," said Brig.-Gen. Menard, when... Canwest News Service via National Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414071/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:47:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413873/posts The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver is going to be a financial disaster that should serve as a wake up call to sports executives ...spending on sports sponsorships and advertising--is very bad. NBC... is going to lose about $200 million on Vancouver... Over the past five years the operational costs of the 2010 Winter Games has mushroomed from $1.3 billion to almost $2 billion. Vancouver is going to take it on the chin as declining sponsorship and tourism revenue ... Forbes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413873/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:53:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413848/posts VANCOUVER - ski resort giant Intrawest ULC may default on a US $1.4 billion loan and is in talks with lenders about debt repayment options. Intrawest may be pushed closer to default if it fails to make a US$524 million payment due Wednesday. The Vancouver-based company which operates some 2010 Winter Olympics venues in British Columbia, is owned by private equity firm Fortress Investment Group LLC of New York. Fortress scrambled to refinance the loan after Intrawest, which holds the debt, was pushed to the brink of creditor protection. In November Intrawest said it agreed to sell one of its... Canadian Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413848/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:24:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413407/posts OTTAWA -- Canada could lose business to the United States if the two countries don't "harmonize" their climate-change plans, says Prime Minister Stephen Harper, arguing that Canada has no choice but to follow the U.S. lead because of the integrated nature of the North American economy. "We've seen in the past decade and a half that if the Americans don't take realistic actions on emissions, it's very difficult for Canada to do much, because quite frankly, factories and economic activity will simply relocate south of the border if the Americans are not harmonized with us," the prime minister said this... Canwest News Service via National Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413407/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:44:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413350/posts A policy that would have seen toiletries and snacks taken away from mental health patients at Alberta Hospital is being reversed by the Alberta government just days after it became public. The policy was part of an implementation plan to standardize supplies across the province and was supposed to save Alberta Health Services $70,000 a year. CTV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413350/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:05:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412200/posts A fundraising gala, set for April 15 in Hamilton Ontario, was initially to be held to benefit two local hospitals; the Juravinski Cancer Centre and St. Peter’s Hospital were to be the recipients of the funds raised. The organizers thought that they had struck gold when they booked former Alaska governor Sarah Palin as the main speaker. They should have known. Shortly after Palin’s presence but made public, Hamilton Health Services began to receive nasty telephone calls and emails. Some people who contacted the organization described themselves as donors and indicated that they would never ever donate again if Palin... CFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412200/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:38:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411596/posts Copenhagen sure was a gas... and here are a few emissions awards we'd like to see handed out to the deservingNow that the enviro nuts have finished handing out their "Fossil of the Day" and "Colossal Fossil" awards, unfairly smearing Canada at the just-completed Copenhagen climate summit, let's return the favour with some well-deserved honours of our own. Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, we present the Copenhagen Flatulence Awards, honouring those who raised the art of generating hot air and gassy emissions to new intensity levels during the UN-sponsored festival of indignation. --- The "I'm Not Really A Climatologist,... Toronto Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411596/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:20:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411068/posts Forget the freak show in Copenhagen to embarrass Canada, led by radical greens with their tiresome "Fossil" awards, shamefully promoted by grandstanding Toronto Mayor David Miller, who "accepted" one claiming he, too, was embarrassed. Ignore the destructive attacks by Ontario and Quebec on Alberta, proving premiers Dalton McGuinty, Jean Charest and their environmental mouthpieces, are the small men of Confederation. Ignore the freaks who cut down our flag from Canada's High Commission in London, threatening to smear it with oil, the American "Yes Men" with their juvenile antics and European warmists comparing Canada to Saudi Arabia. They're all buffoons. Focus... Toronto Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411068/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 12:53:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410666/posts HAMILTON, Ont. - Sarah Palin has been given the boot as a celebrity fundraiser for hospitals in Hamilton, Ont., but she will come to town raise money for a local children’s charity instead. Palin has brought the American health care debate to Canada and it is causing a storm of controversy as concerned hospital supporters have protested her appearance to raise money for two local institutions in April. The former vice-presidential candidate was supposed to speak at a fund-raising event for the Juravinski Cancer Centre and St. Peter’s Hospital in Hamilton. But a backlash of negative publicity cancelled those plans.... Toronto Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410666/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:06:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410587/posts COPENHAGEN -- Green groups on Friday named Canada "Fossil of the Year" -- an award that carried the additional honorific of "Colossal Fossil" -- for what they said was a strategy to sabotage efforts to tackle climate change. "Canada's 2020 [emissions] target is among the worst in the industrialised world, and leaked cabinet documents revealed that the government is contemplating a cap-and-trade plan so weak that it would put even that target out of reach," said Climate Action Network International and Avaaz.org. "This government thinks there's a choice between environment and economy, and for them, tar sands beats climate every... Agence France-Presse via National Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410587/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:38:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410478/posts COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Prime Minister Stephen Harper was left off the guest list for an emergency meeting of world leaders that included U.S. President Barack Obama in the final hours of the Copenhagen climate talks. Obama arrived in the Danish capital Friday morning in the hopes his influence could sway the 193 countries here to get a deal done. Shortly after arriving, the American president headed into a special meeting with 19 other leaders. Among the attendees were Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister... The Canadian Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410478/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:36:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410337/posts I had never heard of KAIROS until I read Colby Cosh's analysis of their partisan politics. That led me to some further reading, and I discovered that KAIROS had issued a denunciation of Alberta's oilsands, and then they went on their fact-finding trip to Fort McMurray. One might have thought it would have been in the reverse order. A quick visit to KAIROS's website shows that their most important goal now is not actually anything to do with religion, let alone with Christianity. It's about getting back to the taxpayer trough. I say let them raise their own money through... ezralevant.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410337/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:53:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410050/posts WASHINGTON, Dec. 17, 2009 – The demonstrated bravery and resolve of the nearly 3,000 Canadian forces serving in Afghanistan reflects the commitment necessary to achieve success there, the commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan said in the Canadian capital yesterday. Canadian forces’ efforts in mentoring Afghan security forces and their work in infrastructure development projects in southern Afghanistan’s Kandahar province are greatly appreciated, Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal said at the Conference of Defence Associations Institute in Ottawa. “The courage and determination of Canadian forces are an inspiration to our coalition,” McChrystal said, noting that Canada, with about... McChrystal,Praises,frwn,Afghanistan http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410050/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:36:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409352/posts The federal Liberals apologized Tuesday after posting a photo on the party's website depicting Prime Minister Stephen Harper being assassinated. The photo substitutes the head of the prime minister for that of Lee Harvey Oswald in the famous black-and-white photo that shows Oswald being shot by Jack Ruby in 1963. National Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409352/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:40:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409028/posts Economist and author Jeff Rubin, who predicted the bursting of Canada's last major housing bubble, warns many Canadians will soon regret they hefty prices they're paying to enter the property market. The often controversial former chief economist of CIBC World Markets says there's another bubble building -- in interest rates -- which could be on the rise by the end of next year. That will squeeze homeowners who took out variable rate mortgages, betting they would stay at rock-bottom for a long time. The author of "Why Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller: Oil and the... Forbes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409028/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:19:13 GMT