Monday July 21, 2008
ACROSS CANADA 
Legal echoes of a fatal crash
Crystal Taman hugged her children and set out for work just before 7 a.m. on a typically cold and clear Prairie day in February, 2005.She was driving a 14-year-old yellow Chevy Sprint convertible, described as great on gas but a relative mosquito among the trucks and SUVs favoured by commuters flooding south along Highway 59 toward Winnipeg.
On the farm, a back-end solution to an energy crisis
The hundreds of black and white Holstein cows milling about the barn at Laurie Stanton's dairy farm may not look like a valuable source of energy, but each animal on the hoof has a lot of potential.
TRANSCANADA AWAITS THE GOVERNOR'S CALL
Through 35 years of false starts and disappointments, it's been Alaska's greatest pipe dream: A natural-gas pipeline that would unlock the state's rich gas reserves for the massive market in the continental United States.
Paying tribute to a passionate environmentalist, writer and friend
From his writing desk in the cottage he calls home, Van Gorman Egan can look down on the glinting waters of the Campbell River, which flows along his property, before sweeping downstream to pass the old family home of the late Roderick Haig-Brown.
Bring back Khadr now, Martin says
Former prime minister Paul Martin said yesterday that Canada should lobby to bring back Guantanamo Bay prisoner Omar Khadr. ''I think Bill Graham, who was foreign affairs minister at the time, said it the best. Which was, ''If we had known then what we know now, then we would have taken strenuous steps to repatriate Mr. Khadr to Canada,' '' Mr. Martin told CTV's Question Period in an interview broadcast yesterday.
Group wants to help homeless by giving them carts
An ad hoc committee trying to address the problem of homelessness in Victoria wants to give those of no fixed address something they'll really use - a shopping cart.Phil Lyons, a member of the Committee To End Homelessness in Victoria, said it's a two-pronged strategy aimed at helping the disadvantaged and putting pressure on governments to deal with the situation by increasing the visibility of the homeless.
The oldest profession gets a snore of an introduction
Mrs. Warren's Profession By George Bernard Shaw Directed by Jackie Maxwell Starring Mary Haney and Moya O'Connell**1/2 Shaw's plays are often so deeply rooted in the political battles of their own rapidly receding time and place that they can be as stimulating as reading op-ed pages from 100 years ago.
Agreement reinforces French as an official Olympic language
The French language will once again become a force to be reckoned with at the Olympic Games, says the head of the Organisation international de la francophonie.Abdou Diouf said the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee accepted earlier this year an agreement signed between the Francophonie and the International Olympics Organization that reinforces French's traditional status as one of the two official languages of the Olympics.
Afghan violence rising, top soldier concedes
Canada's Chief of the Defence Staff has acknowledged that the situation in Afghanistan is getting worse and more troops are required in the face of mounting Taliban attacks aimed at derailing next year's Afghan election.
Liberals refuse Blair's pleas for shot at seat
Vancouver-area MP Blair Wilson made a desperate bid yesterday to win back a spot in the federal Liberal caucus, but the party reaffirmed that the tainted politician will not be running as a Liberal in the next election.
Two-hander reaps a delightfully full Harvest
HarvestBlyth Festival Written by Ken Cameron Directed by Ian PrinslooStarring Marion Day and Larry YachimecBlyth Memorial Hall In Blyth on Saturday ***Ken Cameron's Harvest is the type of play that the rural Blyth Festival audience loves best. It is a serious story told through humour and imagination, and could certainly have a shelf life among city slickers as well.
Gunman kills 1, injures 2 near club
Bruce Antler went out for a few hours of panhandling in downtown Victoria Friday night and ended up bearing witness to a cold-blooded killing.Mr. Antler was walking home along View Street shortly before 3 a.m. Saturday when a lone gunman opened fire on a group of people standing outside a parkade.
An intimate voice done violence by the piano
Elora Festival Die schone Mullerin Colin Ainsworth, tenor James Bourne, piano In Elora on SaturdayFranz Schubert's song cycle Die schone Mullerin - The Pretty Millermaid - is one of the pinnacles of the vocal repertoire. Its 20 songs are not merely gorgeous music, though they are certainly that.
Please, not a Prairie Springfield
Saskatchewan successfully faced its first energy crisis in 1949 when NDP premier Tommy Douglas implemented the rural electrification program.Almost 60 years later, my province thinks it has an alternative to the three coal-fired generators that illuminate its farm kitchens and offices. In a controversial move this June, the governing Saskatchewan Party put out the welcome mat for the Ontario nuclear power company Bruce Power. The firm has lobbied Saskatchewan hard - using climate change as its sales angle - to consider nuclear power and was given the go-ahead to crunch the numbers to see how nuclear energy can be ''integrated into the province's energy mix.''
Parliament Hill renovation costs soar past $1-billion
The cost of renovating and rebuilding the Parliament Hill buildings has climbed to at least $1-billion, according to Public Works budgets and plans.The latest estimates the department provided to The Canadian Press do not include additional costs for major repairs to the Centre Block, where corner towers are already bound by steel cables to prevent collapse.
Concert brings harmony to Plains of Abraham
Sir Paul McCartney offered a few words in French and even French translation on the giant screens at the free outdoor concert he gave last night to mark Quebec City's 400th anniversary.
New law puts green screen on government decisions
Senior public servants will lose bonus money if they fail to meet environment targets under a law that received Royal Assent earlier this month.Whether the Finance Department is launching a new tax or the Transport Minister is planning new aviation rules, every government decision must include an outline of how the environment will be affected.
Concert brings harmony to Plains of Abraham
The estimated 200,000 fans who packed the historic Plains of Abraham last night were swept away by their musical idol Paul McCartney. The former Beatle opened the free outdoor concert with the Wings song Jet.
Where hockey thrives
If the National Hockey League had played its cards right, one of its most troubled franchises would soon have a new home in a stable hockey market, with stable ownership and a stable future. Instead, having outsmarted itself in blocking the move of a U.S.-based team to Canada, the league has an unholy mess.
SEVEN DAYS: YOUR GUIDE TO THE WEEK'S ENTERTAINMENT
MondayHead For TibetA film that takes a behind-the-scenes look at the Dalai Lama, another that weaves an interview with him with tales from the filmmaker's travels through India and the Middle East, and a documentary about six blind Tibetan teenagers who learn to climb the north side of Mount Everest make up Touched By Tibet, a special series at Vancity Theatre. July 21-23 and 25-30, various times. $9.50. Vancity Theatre, 1181 Seymour St. 604-683-3456.
Commander pays tribute to slain soldier
Hundreds of Canadian soldiers and their allies gathered under a golden sunset sky to bid farewell to Corporal James Hayward Arnal as he began his final journey home yesterday.A flag-draped coffin was lifted onto a military plane during a solemn ceremony at Kandahar Airfield for the 88th Canadian soldier to die in the Afghan mission.
Scientists find an important shark breeding ground
Scientists have discovered a new breeding ground for porbeagle sharks off Canada's East Coast, giving hope to a species whose numbers have been steadily slipping around the world.A research team located the mating area on Georges Bank this month after hearing reports from fishermen that they were hauling up the large, blue-grey sharks in their nets.
Hundreds attend memorial service for B.C. model killed in China
Family and friends gathered yesterday under perfect blue skies on one of British Columbia's famed Gulf Islands to remember Diana O'Brien.The 22-year-old was killed while she was working as a model in Shanghai this month.
Harm reduction, harm increase
Re Europe's Approach To Drugs Is More Enlightened...It's Tougher (Margaret Wente - July 17): In pre-Thatcher Britain, heroin addiction was treated as a medical problem. An addict could obtain a prescription for maintenance doses, whereby the addict could hold a normal job.
Harm reduction, harm increase
The Four Pillars approach is British Columbia's drug policy - not Canada's, as Margaret Wente calls it in Legalization In Disguise (July 19). The National Anti-Drug Strategy unveiled by the Conservatives last fall, in contrast to the previous strategy, makes not a single reference to harm reduction.
Harm reduction, harm increase
It is often implied that ''harm reduction,'' the provision of clean needles to addicts, will reduce the risk of becoming HIV-positive.The opposite is true. While many studies have shown that needle exchanges reduce what are called risky behaviours, they increase the risk of becoming HIV-positive.
Harm reduction, harm increase
Margaret Wente champions the approach of Billy Weselowski, who ''has successfully treated thousands of people'' and ''knows that even hard-core junkies can recover.''Contrast this optimism with Ms. Wente's pessimism on the possibility of losing weight. In several past columns she has written of the hopelessness of attempts to change one's physique, lifestyle or eating habits.
Harm reduction, harm increase
Margaret Wente's articles have been a breath of fresh air. I have been visiting the Downtown Eastside for 30 years, usually on a weekly basis, and see absolutely no evidence that any harm is being reduced.
Le chevalier Paul
Only music can solve Sir Paul McCartney's controversy (The Plains Of Paul - editorial, July 18).How about a declaration of love like ''Quebec, ma belle, sont les mots qui vont tres bien ensemble, tres bien ensemble''?
QUOTE OF THE DAY
''What was very helpful, I hate to put this way, was my departure.''Retiring Liberal MP John Godfrey, sponsor of an environmental bill that drew support from all parties. A4
TORONTO
SUV's driver sought in triple homicide
Homicide detectives last night were hunting the driver of a bullet-riddled SUV, found abandoned overnight in a tranquil Etobicoke neighbourhood with the bodies of three young men inside.All three had been shot to death and then apparently driven in a stolen Nissan Pathfinder to Lunness Road near the intersection of Browns Line and Lake Shore Boulevard, close to the dividing line between Toronto and Mississauga.
Blast forces evacuation of east-end apartments
Hundreds of residents of an east-Toronto apartment tower will find out today if they can return home, after an explosion rocked their building yesterday morning.The blast, thought to have occurred in an underground hydro vault, injured 10 people, including nine firefighters. It sent shockwaves through the building, blowing cars from their stalls, shattering windows two floors above and causing a fireball seen by tenants a dozen floors above.
Panel's fiscal report sees some action
When Toronto Mayor David Miller named a blue-ribbon panel to advise on the city's fiscal health, critics wondered if he would heed its advice.As it turns out, he has acted, if selectively, on several recommendations from the well-received report last February.
Interest group pushes for accountability
A public-interest group says Ontario should lift the ''shroud of secrecy'' around hospitals by extending freedom of information legislation, requiring boards to hold open meetings and broadening the Ontario ombudsman's power.
COLUMNISTS
Running in circles over statues
Perhaps it is only right that running around in circles may soon become our national symbol.Secret plans of the National Capital Commission - official gardener to the Canadian taxpayer - were unveiled this past week when the Ottawa Citizen lucked into some interesting documents through the usually useless access to information law.
The politics of destruction has run its course
The governing Conservatives have discovered something of late: Their modus operandi - politics as war - isn't working as it used to.In the winter and spring, they had the Liberals running scared from the prospect of an election. But in the soft days of summer, much has changed. A veteran pollster was saying last week that, if an election were held today, the Tories would likely find themselves on the opposition benches.
