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The registry isn’t entirely gone .... But Wednesday’s vote in the House of Commons, where the bill to scrap the registry and delete its record passed third reading — with two NDP MPs breaking ranks with their party to vote with the government — means it’s all over but for the crying .... This is a major victory for the Tories, who have been gunning for the registry (pun not intended, but acknowledged) since the day it was enacted. Some would argue its demise is a good thing for Canadians. But anyone can see that it’s a good thing for...

Just because a person from a racial minority gets into a nasty argument over the provision of a service does not mean he has been discriminated against, the Ontario Divisional Court has ruled, in the case of a librarian who asked two black lawyers for identification in a courthouse library. The ruling on alleged racial profiling, rare because it does not involve police, clarifies that discrimination must be proven, not just assumed because the complainant is part of a minority. “A complainant cannot merely point to his or her membership in a racialized group and an unpleasant interaction to establish...

NIAGARA FALLS — A bi-national opinion poll measuring attitudes of the War of 1812 shows that Canadians consider the war vital to identifying their nationhood but Americans are more likely to commemorate the 200-year anniversary. At a cursory glance of the budgets on both sides of the border to mark the bicentennial, it’s hard to imagine the Americans can match the Canadians in observing the milestone. While the majority of those surveyed agreed the war significantly affected their national identities, more Canadians identified outcomes of the war (77 percent) than Americans (64 percent.)

Canadian Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper is in the midst of an official visit to China. His mission? To convince Beijing’s mandarins to buy Canada’s Alberta oil sands hydrocarbon production, now that Republican Congressional overreach has effectively sidelined the Keystone XL pipeline, designed to transit the oil to U.S. Gulf of Mexico refineries, for the foreseeable future. Harper faces an uphill struggle, as China is questioning the delays in implementing the Northern Gateway pipeline, to transit Alberta’s oil to Canada’s western coast for transshipment to China. Complicating the picture, Harper has a weak hand of cards, and both he and...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The finance minister for Canada's top oil producing province of Alberta said he expects the Canada-to-U.S. Keystone XL pipeline project to be "revived" following presidential elections this year. In an interview on Monday, Ron Liepert said he thinks government approval for the $7 billion pipeline to ship around 830,000 barrels per day of oil sands crude from Alberta to South Texas could come following elections on November 6.

Energy: While our president sleeps on the Keystone XL pipeline, Canada’s prime minister is in Beijing signing a series of trade deals to ship additional petroleum to China. Halftime in America? We need a new quarterback. While Clint Eastwood, in that thinly disguised infomercial for President Obama's re-election campaign, was promising that the world would soon hear the roar of our engines, China's economy will soon be revving up with petroleum that should and could be flowing south in a pipeline the Obama administration won't build. Prime Minister Steven Harper is making good on his warning that Canada would seek...

On February 8, 2012 Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut, a famous and notable Toronto rabbi died. He was Senior Rabbi at Toronto's Holy Blossom Synagogue from 1961 to 1977 and remained active as a commentator on the Torah since. He in fact wrote what is now the standard Reform commentary on the Torah, that is in use in most Reform synagogues. This is the link to his obituary. This interview is both stirring and stunning (link to original) from another tribute: “We are not a bomb-throwing group,” Plaut intoned in that crisp lightly tinged German-Jewish accent, “but I want everyone to...

You have been waiting in suspense for Me to move in a spectacular way , not for yourselves but for the Body and the Bride and to AWE the lost and stolen those wandering aimlessly in the darkness with no hope ! YEA ! I Declare Hope is Here ! And your Glory Cloud has landed but it is the key of Faith swinging in the incense of worship that causes My smoke to Gather , My wings to spread as over the Mercy Seat ! And My Eyes and My Heart to Rest upon you as I nestle you...

You have done well to do My will and no other for I AM The Voice(of many waters) that guides you and you have no enemies for they are now mine as My word ~ ( If you listen carefully to what he says then I will be an enemy to your enemies and oppose those that oppose you Exodus 23:22) Your motives are gone and my will is your endeavor , paramount and true ! So continue to listen to my words and Voice and watch as I move you deeper into My kingdom endeavors and bear Great Fruit...

Littoral ship named for Gabby ---

..WASHINGTON (AP) — The Navy has named a ship for Gabrielle Giffords, the recently retired congresswoman from Arizona who is recovering from a gunshot wound to the head received in January 2011. In a ceremony at the Pentagon, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus unveiled an artist's rendering of the USS Gabrielle Giffords. The littoral combat ship is among the Navy's most versatile and can operate in shallower coastal waters than larger ships. Mabus said: "God bless the USS Gabrielle Giffords and all who sail in her." Mabus also announced that the ship's "sponsor" is Roxanna Green. She's the mother of Christina-Taylor...

The Secretary of the Navy announced on Friday that a new littoral combat ship will be named after former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.). The announcement comes the same day that President Obama signed the last piece of legislation sponsored by Giffords, a bill aimed at reducing drug trafficking along the American borders with Canada and Mexico. Giffords, who recently stepped down from office, was the target of a shooting rampage in early January 2011. “The name this ship bears and the story represented by that name will inspire all those who come in contact with her,” said Navy Secretary Ray...

The man killed in Calgary's first homicide of the year was breaking into an Erin Woods home when someone shot him. Police had previously said Joseph Lesley Talbot, 35, died last weekend following a break-in at a home on Erin Circle S.E. Investigators haven't officially disclosed Talbot's role in the events, but a source said Wednesday he was breaking into the home when someone inside shot him. Family members of Talbot's in Ontario have said on social media websites that the killing is the second homicide in the family in recent months. Relatives said Talbot's younger brother, 20-year-old David Arbuckle,...

Canada's prime minister on Friday made his strongest comments yet in support of a proposed pipeline from oil-rich Alberta to the Pacific coast, saying his government was committed to ensuring the controversial project went ahead. snip "We have abundant supplies of virtually every form of energy. And you know, we want to sell our energy to people who want to buy our energy -- it's that simple," Harper told a business dinner in Guangzhou.

Last month we discussed the rather alarming news that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was planning a trip to China to discuss possible natural resources deals with the economic superpower. It seemed no coincidence that the trip was announced close on the heels of Barack Obama's decision to kick the can down the road on the Keystone XL pipeline yet again. But at that time, I retained some hope that perhaps this was just a warning siren to Obama which would remind him that Canada had plenty of other options should we decide not to do business with them.Apparently Harper...

China and Canada declared Thursday that bilateral relations have reached "a new level" following a series of multibillion-dollar trade and business agreements to ship additional Canadian petroleum, uranium and other products to the Asian superpower. ..................................................... Harper has said building pipelines to the West Coast — such as the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway oilsands pipeline and a separate one for liquefied natural gas — is a national priority as Canada looks to ship its vast resources to Asia. Enbridge CEO Pat Daniel said the commitment by the Chinese and Canadian governments for a strategic energy partnership will allow Canada to...

The law governing the right to defend yourself and make a citizen's arrest is sailing through Parliament on a calm sea of cross party support. Justice Minister Rob Nicholson appeared at a House of Commons committee Tuesday to discuss Bill C-26 -- the Citizen's Arrest and Self Defence Act -- and faced tame questions from MPs. "He was defending his own house and property and he still had to hire a lawyer and go to through the court process when he was defending his home and family, how would C-26 make this different?" asked Liberal MP Judy Sgro, referencing one...

They didn't win all of the battles but the Conservatives are poised to win the war over the long gun registry. Bill C-19, an act to end the long gun registry, passed one of the final hurdles in the House of Commons Tuesday night after several attempts by the Opposition to amend it. Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, angry that debate had been shortened, led the charge along with the NDP, Liberal and Bloc members to make changes. Voting took hours. The Tories, however, have a majority and eventually squashed all of the efforts. "When are we going to have...

Out for a walk with 42 Saint Bernard dogs Lasquite's Saint Bernards on Lasqueti Island Canada (Click onto the link to view the two-minute + video on the Fox 43 WPMT webpage)

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper insisted he is not preparing the Canadian public for war with Iran but, in his starkest warning yet, he said he fears the regime in Tehran is prepared to use nuclear weapons, if it manages to produce them. In an interview with the National Post and Postmedia News, Mr. Harper said Iran’s quest to develop weapons of mass destruction is “a grave threat to peace and security.” “For the first time in history, we are facing a regime that not only wants to attain nuclear weapons but a regime that has, compared to virtually...

Following are excerpts from an interview with US Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which aired on Al-Hayat TV on January 30, 2012. Ruth Bader Ginsburg: It is a very inspiring time - that you have overthrown a dictator, and that you are striving to achieve a genuine democracy. So I think people in the United States are hoping that this transition will work, and that there will genuinely be a government of, by, and for the people. [...] I met with the head of the elections commission. I think that the first step has gone well, and that elections...

Video at Link.

The Shafias will appeal their first-degree murder convictions based on what their lawyers consider prejudicial evidence presented at their trial. Hamed Shafia’s lawyer, Patrick McCann, has already filed application with the Ontario Court of Appeal on behalf of his client and told CBC the other two lawyers involved with the case will likely do the same. “He is quite determined to pursue it and continue the fight, so to speak,” McCann said Tuesday. Echoing reports made in his closing arguments in the trial, the Ottawa-based lawyer said statements from the victims made to their boyfriends and teachers, who testified in...

A cat escape caused a four-hour delay for an Air Canada flight Thursday as airline staff in Halifax struggled to get the feline from its hiding place in cockpit wiring. (Jan. 27) [Associated Press]

There is a "new Canada" just over the horizon — home to a diversity of skin tones, birth countries, languages and religious faiths unprecedented in the nation's history. By 2031, at least one in four people in this country will have been born elsewhere, new population projections from Statistics Canada suggest, and just half the working-age population will belong to families that have lived in Canada for at least three generations. "You look at the statistics and you can see it: who's the bulk of the new population, who's going to be our future," says Henry Yu, an associate history...

Alleged Rwandan war criminal Leon Mugesera played Canada's ponderously slow judicial and immigration systems like a concert violinist, but now he is finally where he should have been more than a decade ago. And that's in Rwanda, and a jail cell in Kigali. We trust his accommodations are suitable. Rwanda, in turn, has promised Canada that Mugesera would get a fair trial on charges that he incited the 1993-94 genocide of millions of the Tutsi minority by marauding Hutu militiamen. Canada, in turn, should promise Canadians to speed up the system to that no alleged war criminal can ever again...

If Canada’s “green” media — especially in the Parliamentary Press Gallery — demanded the same standards of accountability of themselves as they do of politicians, they would be killing entire forests right now apologizing to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Why? Because in sidestepping the economically suicidal stampede onto the green energy bandwagon which they relentlessly shilled for, Harper was right and they — along with the Liberals, NDP, Bloc and Greens — were wrong. Today, so-called “green” energy is in retreat all over the developed world, as taxpayers and consumers in countries that blindly raced into it are in open...

Last week, an Iranian Supreme Court confirmed the death sentence for computer programmer Saeed Malekpour, whose photography program was used without his knowledge, to upload pornography to the internet.

Every four years or so, when Canadians need a little something extra to make the hair stand up on the back of our necks, we can collectively flip the channel and tune in to the most compelling reality TV show on our planet - the American presidential election. While some treat it like a long-running drama, with its own minor characters, subplots and an exciting season finale, others wish that the excitement of the American spectacle could make its way to Ottawa somehow. Both reactions are understandable, but both are wrong. The proper reaction, especially in 2012, is fear. Why...

Canada needs to look beyond its southern neighbour for markets because the United States economy is unlikely to ever fully recover, Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney said Sunday. In an interview with CTV's Question Period, Carney said that it is vital for Canada to look for new trading partners in the Asia-Pacific region and elsewhere to prevent the economy from being dragged down by the U.S. "It's going to take a number of years before they get back to the U.S. that we used to know - in fact, they are not, in our opinion, ultimately going to get...

It’s well known that America’s dependence on foreign oil forces us to partner with some pretty unsavory regimes. Take, for instance, the country that provides by far the largest share of our petroleum imports. Its regime, in thrall to big oil interests, has grown increasingly bellicose, labeling environmental activists “radicals” and “terrorists” and is considering a crackdown on nonprofits that oppose its policies. It blames political dissent on the influence of “foreigners,” while steamrolling domestic opposition to oil projects bankrolled entirely by overseas investors. Meanwhile, its skyrocketing oil exports have sent the value of its currency soaring, enriching energy industry...

I haven’t had many lectures where terms like necrophilia or bestiality came up. That’s why, among all the classes I’ve taken over the past four years, the sociology course I’m taking this semester, Sexuality and the Law, stand outs. It wasn’t until the second class that the professor really delved into the ‘makes you feel uncomfortable and avoid eye contact with the other students’ material. Penis rings, polygamy, chastity belts, the Kama Sutra, and the lack of a female counterpart to Viagra were all discussed, in no particular order of uncomfortableness. Next, the professor gave a brief overview of popular...

Recent tradition has indicated Canadians have been far more approving of Democrat American presidents in comparison to their Republican counterparts. From Kennedy to Clinton, even many self-described ‘moderate’ conservative Canucks have given thumbs up to the more liberal of U.S. leaders. Bush-haters were just as prevalent in Canada as they were in any nation of the West, and our liberal population joined their American cousins riding the wave of Hope and Change when Obama won in 2008. But those of us on the outside looking in have watched Obama’s first term unfold and have witnessed what the American people have...

It is the crime of the century that America, home to some of the world’s greatest reserves of coal, natural gas and oil, is being deliberately destroyed by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior as they do everything in their power to restrict access and drive energy producers out of business. It is common sense that a nation that cannot produce sufficient electricity to turn on its lights and power its manufacturing sector will be destroyed if current Obama administration regulations and actions continue. Our vital transportation sector and all others that utilize petroleum-based products will...

HONOLULU: Canada, Mexico and at least two other countries have expressed interest in joining US-led talks for a pan-Pacific trade pact, a US Republican lawmaker said on Friday after Japan asked to take part. “There’s a good deal of momentum for the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership),” Representative Kevin Brady said after meetings with members of President Barack Obama’s administration at the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. That momentum was evidenced by Japan’s announcement earlier on Friday that it was interested in joining the talks “and what seem to be very solid inquiries from Canada, Mexico and a few others,” Brady...

Auroras may dazzle more people than usual this weekend as Earth receives a glancing blow from an enormous solar outburst that erupted on Jan. 19. The outburst, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), was detected by sun-watching satellites. Researchers at the University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute predict that auroras should be visible from Seattle, Des Moines, Chicago, and Cleveland, to Boston and Halifax, Nova Scotia Saturday and Sunday nights, weather permitting. ... Space Weather Center forecasters say they expect the encounter to generate a weak geomagnetic disturbance beginning around 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time Sunday Jan. 22 and lasting...

This is great stuff. I was going to add it as an update to the previous post on this topic but it deserves its own headline. Ezra Levant hosts a show, The Source, for Canada’s Sun News. In a very well-researched presentation, he takes a comprehensive look at Obama’s idiocy over the Keystone Pipeline. Be sure to watch the whole thing and pay particular attention to the map of the alleged “pristine, environmentally sensitive area” through which the pipleline will pass. I don’t know who this guy is, but he certainly did his homework.

President Obama’s rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico is an act of national insanity. It isn’t often that a president makes a decision that has no redeeming virtues and — beyond the symbolism — won’t even advance the goals of the groups that demanded it. All it tells us is that Obama is so obsessed with his reelection that, through some sort of political calculus, he believes that placating his environmental supporters will improve his chances. Aside from the political and public relations victory, environmentalists won’t get much. Stopping the pipeline won’t halt...

WASHINGTON — On Dec. 31, just hours before a New Year's Eve celebration, President Barack Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. Section 1245 of the law contains language providing authority to impose economic sanctions on Iran in order to deter the ayatollahs from acquiring nuclear weapons. White House efforts to have the sanctions provision stripped from the bill failed, and the measure became law with a quiet flourish of the presidential pen. Ever since, Washington and Tehran have been waging a war of words. None of this works to the advantage of the American...

America's loss is China's gain. In the aftermath of the Keystone XL fiasco, which will see not only a number of jobs "uncreated" but a natural source of crude lost, Canada is already planning next steps. Which will benefit Shanghai directly and immediately. As Bloomberg reports, "Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in a telephone call yesterday, told Obama “Canada will continue to work to diversify its energy exports,” according to details provided by Harper’s office. Canadian Natural Resource Minister Joe Oliver said relying less on the U.S. would help strengthen the country’s “financial security.” The “decision by the Obama administration underlines...

For electric vehicle enthusiasts with the “if you build it, they will come” mentality, who endorse endless taxpayer subsidies for plug-in automobiles and infrastructure to charge them, there’s bad news this week. The Daily Mail reported that sales of electric cars in the United Kingdom have fallen so sharply that there are now more charging stations than there are vehicles. If you thought the flaccid U.S. sales of the Chevy Volt (7,671 units) and Nissan Leaf (9,674 units) were a letdown – despite significant government funding for research and development, batteries, charging systems, and a $7,500 tax credit for...

The Obama administration finally pulled the trigger on a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline, and while very few were surprised at the President’s thumbs-down, many were disappointed. The proposed line, which would actually be a twinning/extension of an existing one, would take raw bitumen from Alberta’s abundant oil sands down to the Gulf Coast of Texas to be refined. The arguments have all been played out on both sides of the issue. Anti-oil sands environmentalist groups, backed by outspoken yet unknowledgeable (and hypocritical) eco-celebs grabbed the media spotlight with their protests. Pro-groups, including a large portion of Obama’s base...

Republicans in the House of Representatives said on Wednesday they plan to introduce a bill to advance TransCanada's Keystone XL oil pipeline to try to override President Barack Obama's rejection of the $7 billion project. House Speaker John Boehner told reporters "all options are on the table" to craft a bill to fight for the pipeline, which Republicans say would create thousands of jobs and bolster the economic recovery. "There are legislative vehicles that will be moving in the weeks and months ahead," Boehner said. House Republicans have not yet decided what kind of legislation they will push, said Lee...

President Obama’s decision to reject the Keystone XL pipeline application, as recommended by the U.S. State Department, was met with disappointment by our friends north of the border. In a statement, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office said that President Obama called him this morning. “The president explained that the decision was not a decision on the merits of the project and that it was without prejudice, meaning that TransCanada is free to reapply,” said the statement. “Prime Minister Harper expressed his profound disappointment with the news.

House Republicans have called Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to testify as early as next week on the Obama administration’s decision to reject the Keystone XL pipeline. Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton formally sent a request to Clinton to come and testify at a hearing as early as next Wednesday, the day after President Barack Obama gives his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress. Upton is required to give members of his panel a week’s notice before a hearing occurs. “So as much as I’d like to do it tomorrow, or Friday or...

My love for you is tremendous so remember all you do in my name and for the purposes of my will alone , void of all your intentions shall be fulfilled in the timing of my kingdom in an eternal manner for I reign supreme and it is in the acceptance of this knowledge that you enter my gates and abide in my presence . And it is this that surrounds you as you abide in my will . Thus I shall never leave you or forsake you as you remain in me and my favor ! Joshua 15:23 (...

PORT COLBORNE, ONT. - An Ontario town is still waffling over whether a man who died suddenly, leaving the bathroom faucet running, should get a break on his water bill. Allister MacPherson died at his home in Port Colborne, Ont., Sept. 28. The water remained flowing for three weeks before his body was discovered by family members. Now his family is asking the town to forgive the $600 bill.

In a post last month, I noted that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s patience with Obama’s dithering over the Keystone Pipeline in order to pander to the rainbow and unicorn crowd that forms his political base wouldn’t last forever. Harper, I wrote, fully understands what motivates Obama, and it’s not sound energy policy:

Reporting from Vancouver, Canada— For years, Canada has had one of the most generous immigration policies in the world, welcoming tens of thousands of asylum applicants who claim to be fleeing persecution in their homelands. But Canada's Conservative government has begun rolling up the welcome mat, stepping up efforts to track down and deport thousands of asylum-seekers whose applications have been denied.

Key US oil supplier may cut off spigot SundayCHRIS KAHN, AP Energy Writer Saturday, January 14, 2012 NEW YORK (AP) — One of the biggest suppliers of oil to the United States may shut off the spigot this weekend, pushing crude and gasoline prices higher for Americans. Nigeria, which supplies 8 percent of U.S. oil imports, could see production halted if striking workers walk off the job Sunday. Workers are demanding the return of a vital government fuel subsidy that has kept gasoline prices low in that impoverished and restive nation of 160 million people. It’s unclear how much of...