City in Brief
by Cynthia Dupuis
→ Bachand throws his hat into the race
Former Finance Minister Raymond Bachand officially announced on Friday his candidacy for the Liberal leadership race to replace Jean Charest. Before an audience of about 50 people, Bachand argued that he is the most suitable person to become leader. “We have to listen to Quebecers, put ourselves in listening mode, meet them, build consensus. We have to unite and not divide,” argued Bachand, quoted in the Montreal Gazette. Two other candidates are expected to throw their hats into the ring: former Health Minister Philippe Couillard and former Transport Minister Pierre Moreau. In a recent poll conducted by Léger Marketing, results showed that 27 per cent of Quebecers think Couillard would be the best leader for the party.
→ Death possibly linked to car defect
The Sûreté du Québec is looking into whether there was something wrong with the car an officer was driving the night she was killed in a car accident. The 23-year-old police officer, Katia Hadouchi, died after her cruiser crashed on Kildare Road last Thursday in Sainte-Ambroise-de-Kildare, north of Joliette. Police now say the Chevrolet Impala was part of a recall by General Motors that has now pulled about 100 vehicles off the road since last Wednesday. SQ collision investigators remain unsure as to whether or not speed had been a factor in the incident.
→ To pay the increase or to not pay the increase?
Concordia University sent out an email to students last Friday afternoon regarding tuition fee payments. The university announced that students who do not pay the tuition fee increase will not be charged a penalty of $75. The accounts will be adjusted only once the university is officially notified by the Government of Quebec. For now, the administration urged students to pay their tuition fees as indicated on their current student account by the deadline of Oct. 1.
→ It takes village to build a playground
Two-hundred and fifty volunteers came together Saturday to help build a playground in Little Burgundy’s Jesse Maxwell-Smith Park. Kaboom, an American-based non-profit group helped with the day-long project, which will be one among many public playgrounds in the province, built with community input and donated materials. Many hope the volunteering initiative will become a trend to redeem public parks in Quebec. The estimated cost for the new playground is $135,000. The project is predominantly funded by Foresters, a multinational insurance company with a philanthropic bent brought in by Kaboom.
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Nation in Brief
by Cynthia Dupuis
→ Khadr returns home
Nearly a decade after he was pulled from the rubble of a bombed compound in Afghanistan, Canadian Omar Khadr, now 26, arrived on Canadian soil this Saturday after an American military flight from Guantanamo Bay. Khadr was detained for nearly ten years in the notorious prison for allegedly committing war crimes and terrorism. Under a plea agreement, Khadr was eligible a year ago to serve the remainder of his sentence in Canada. He was transferred to a maximum-security facility in eastern Ontario. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews told the National Post that the parole board will determine how many more of the six years remaining on his sentence Khadr will have to serve in Canadian custody.
→ I’ll stick to veggies
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency expanded its recall of beef packed at a plant in Brooks, Alberta after nine cases of E. coli in the province were linked to the meat. The warning is now extended to all beef products from XL Foods sold in Co-op, Metro and Wal-Mart stores across Canada. The beef processed at the plant represents a third of all the beef processed in Canada. While only four of the nine cases were linked to beef from XL Foods Inc., Alberta Health services’ investigators are still unclear about where the contamination originated from.
→ Man bites dog (yes, that’s right)
A partially nude young man was taken into custody for supposedly biting a dog in the eastern Ontario town of Pembroke. Witnesses reported the incident early last Wednesday morning, when police apprehended the man clad only in underwear and Pembroke animal control obtained the dog. The dog suffered minimal injuries and the alleged suspect was detained and later brought to a hospital under the Mental Health Act. Constable Dillon Gerundin said the reasons behind the act remain unknown but drug use may have possibly played a role.
→ September 2012 driest for Vancouver
Vancouver set a record for its driest September in 116 years, according to Environment Canada. With a total of 7.9 millimetres of precipitation for the entire month, the lowest amount since then was in 1907 when 9.4 millimetres of rain was fell during September of that year. Rainfall has been recorded in the province since 1896. According to CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe, the dry conditions were consistent throughout most of the province. Wagstaffe noted weather has changed to match fall conditions, with rain and wind hitting the south coast more often.
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World in Brief
by Elizabeth Tomaras
→ A gay ol’ time
A new method claiming to turn gay children straight is soon to be banned in the state of California. The state Senate passed the legislation earlier in May, disallowing any non-scientific therapy from being used on anyone aged younger than 18. However, supporters of the method are firing back with a lawsuit against the ruling, as they believe that governor Jerry Brown and gay rights advocates’ arguments are “just are not true.” The American Psychiatric Association studied the types of shock treatment being used and reported it causes health risks such as depression, anxiety and self-destructive behaviour.
→ Pussy on trial
After stating “she no longer wants to work with an attorney who doesn’t share her views on the case,” Yekaterina Samutsevich and fellow Pussy Riot band members’ appeal hearing will resume on Oct. 10. The women were convicted of hooliganism in August after showing their extreme opposition of Vladimir Putin and his politics publically. The Russian Prime Minister has called for the women’s release noting their jail time is unproductive. Still, the PM said he was “sickened” by the band’s acts.
→ Kids these days
Students at the University of Tennessee have created a new way to get drunk – alcohol enemas – and it’s exactly what it sounds like. The drinker places a small tube in his or her rectum while alcohol is poured into the colon allowing it to be quickly absorb into the bloodstream. Besides sounding unpleasant and unhygienic, our stomachs and livers produce an enzyme able to break down ethanol in alcohol but our gastrointestinal tract does not and could lead to eventual poisoning. This is only one of the many dangerous drinking trends popping up worldwide.
→ Out of this world
Seated in the same position since the 11th century, carved out of a meteor and once in the hands of Nazis, the “Iron Man” Buddhist god sculpture is currently the subject of study for Elmar Buchner of the Planetology Institute at Stuttgart University in Germany. Buchner has analyzed the statue, figuring it is made out of a meteorite that landed between Mongolia and Siberia approximately 15,000 years ago. It is the only known man-made creation crafted out of intergalactic material which places its value at $20,000 however if Buchner’s age estimate is correct, it may be “invaluable.”
