NewsCan: For January 26-February 1, 2007
Special Features |
International News |
Business and Trade |
Canadian News |
Opinion/Editorial
The Connect2Canada team produces NewsCan as a weekly summary of Canadian news. If you have comments or suggestions, please email us at newscan@canadianembassy.org.
The articles appearing in this newsletter have been collected from various Canadian and American news websites. Articles appear in the language in which they were published.
Connect2Canada strives to minimize inclusion of paid links in NewsCan, but at times, some of our links to commercial news websites may lead you to paid content. This is mostly because the links are freely available at the time of the NewsCan publication, but they become paid content hours or days later, depending on the news sites. Connect2Canada will continue to do our best to make all of our news stories available without charge to our NewsCan readers.
Tell your friends and spread the word about NewsCan today!
Not on the NewsCan list? Click here to subscribe.
In this issue:
and much more...
News from Connect2Canada
Update on Canada-U.S. Border Security and an Opportunity to Comment on the U.S. Passcard
The Connect2Canada Team
On January 29, 2007 Connect2Canada sent a message to our community informing them that the United States has invited comments regarding its proposed pass card for use at U.S. land border crossings, beginning as early as January 2008. Details on Canada's investment in over $430 million for border security were also included.
View the original message to learn how you may submit electronic comments, and learn more about how Canada is taking action to keep Canadians safe from potential security threats, while ensuring the smooth flow of trade across our border.
The National Film Board marks its 69th Academy Award Nomination
The Connect2Canada Team
Since its first Academy Award in 1941, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) has won a total of 11 Oscars: ten for individual titles and a special award for overall achievement in 1989 "in recognition of its 50th anniversary and its dedicated commitment to originate artistic, creative and technological activity and excellence in every area of film making."
This year marks the NFB's 69th Academy Award nomination. Montreal animator Torill Kove's The Danish Poet has earned an Oscar nomination for best animated short. (a Canada/Norway co-production). The Danish Poet has already picked up ten awards, including the Audience Choice and Animated Short Award from the New York Short Film Festival.
In addition to the NFB nomination, Canadian Oscar contenders include Ryan Gosling for Best Actor in Half Nelson, Best Original Screenplay for Paul Haggis's Letters from Iwo Jima, Deepha Mehta's Water for Best Foreign-Language Film. No Time for Nuts, another animated short, was co-directed by Regina-born and raised Michael Thurmeier with Chris Renaud.
Learn more about the National Film Board at the Oscars, and stay tuned for the 79th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday, February 25, 2007.
Special Features
Statement by the Prime Minister on the first anniversary of the Afghanistan Compact
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement on the first anniversary of the adoption of the Afghanistan Compact in London, England on January 31, 2006: "Today marks the first anniversary of the Afghanistan Compact, a milestone agreement between the United Nations (UN), the Government of Afghanistan and the international community."
Read the full story
Canadian-U.S. Science Pact to Improve Monitoring of Land Cover, Biodiversity and Climate Change
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Natural Resources Canada and the U.S. Department of the Interior's Geological Survey have launched a high-tech satellite mapping initiative that can better monitor changes in the combined land cover of two of the world's largest nations.
Read the full story
Canada's New Government And Nova Scotia Invest $400 Million in the Environmental Cleanup of Sydney Tar Ponds and Coke Ovens
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Canada's New Government and the Province of Nova Scotia today announced an historic step that clears the way for the Sydney Tar Ponds and Coke Ovens sites cleanup to begin this spring.
Read the full story
International News
Canada to give $32M in Afghan aid
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Canadian Press, The Toronto Star
The Canadian International Development Agency is opening the floodgates on reconstruction funding. The agency said Tuesday its is pumping $31.8 million into reconstruction programs in rural Kandahar province. The Americans, meanwhile, are kicking in an additional $5.9 million through their development arm — USAID.
Read the full story
Fresh Canadian troops depart for Afghanistan
Saturday, January 27, 2007
CBC News
Two more groups of soldiers have left Canada for a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan as part of a troop rotation that will see their counterparts in the country's war zone return home over the next two months.
Read the full story
Washington-Canada 'express lane' in the works
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Joe Gamm, OregonLiveCom
While national security is making international travel slower and slower, Washington state and Canada are working out a plan to create a virtual "express lane" across their shared border.
Read the full story
Common cause
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
James Morrison, The Washington Times
Canadian Ambassador Michael Wilson tried something different when he spoke to business leaders in Toronto. Instead of discussing "bilateral tensions" between Canada and the United States, he talked about what binds the world's largest trading partners in common cause around the globe.
Read the full story
Canada to Pay $9.75 Million to Man Tortured in Syria
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Ian Austen, The New York Times
Maher Arar, the Canadian software engineer who was detained by American officials in 2002 and deported to Syria, where he was jailed and regularly tortured, will receive 11.5 million Canadian dollars ($9.75 million) in compensation from the Canadian government, under a settlement announced Friday.
Read the full story
Le podium à la portée de plusieurs Canadiens
Mercredi, le 31 janvier 2007
Manon Gilbert, RadioCanada
Du 3 au 18 février, Äre accueillera, pour la deuxième fois, les Championnats du monde de ski alpin.
Lire en détail
Business and Trade
Growing U.S. strength good news for Canada
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Winnipeg Free Press
The Canadian economy was much weaker than expected as last year was drawing to a close, but there was evidence of surprising strength south of the border, which is good news for Canada.
Read the full story
Merger boosts Abitibi
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Sean Silcoff, CanadaCom
For the second time in five months, a major Canadian firm and a U.S. forestry company have agreed to merge in an attempt to gird against falling demand and the impact of the high Canadian dollar -- at the cost of a presence on Canadian stock indexes.
Read the full story
Chip-based cards may cut into fraud
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Dana Flavelle, The Toronto Star
Credit and debit cards embedded with computer chips have virtually wiped out the kind of security breaches that compromised millions of cards used at Winners and HomeSense stores in Canada, industry officials say. But it will be another three years before the cards are widely available in Canada.
Read the full story
Great-West Lifeco achète Putnam
Jeudi, le 1er février 2007
RadioCanada
La société Great-West Lifeco, de Winnipeg, une filiale de la Corporation Financière Power, de Montréal, a conclu une entente pour acquérir l'entreprise américaine Putnam Investments Trust.
Lire en détail
InBev Agrees to Purchase Lakeport to Expand in Canada
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Meera Bhatia, Bloomberg
InBev NV, the brewer of Beck's and Stella Artois, said it agreed to buy Lakeport Brewing Income Fund for C$201.4 million ($171 million) to expand in Canada.
Read the full story
Canadian News
Climate concerns now top security and health
Friday, January 26, 2007
Brian Laghi, The Globe and Mail
Anxiety about environmental change has climbed so quickly within Canadians' consciousness that it now overwhelms terrorism, crime and health care as society's greatest threat, says a poll that kicks off a major Globe and Mail examination of the issue.
Read the full story
53e Carnaval de Québec: Harper lance les festivités
Jeudi, le 1er février 2007
Valérie Gaudreau, La Presse
Dire qu'il y a quelques jours à peine, on parlait de réchauffement de la planète... Le moins que l'on puisse dire est que la soirée d'hier, avec son -30° C, n'était pas tout à fait la meilleure illustration des changements climatiques. Malgré tout, quelques carnavaleux présents au lancement officiel du 53e Carnaval de Québec ont rappelé la menace au premier ministre Stephen Harper. Du bout de leurs mitaines, ils ont brandi des pancartes sur lesquelles on pouvait lire «Et Kyoto?».
Lire en détail
Ottawa moves to help Canadians regain citizenship
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
CBC News
The federal government has set up a new system to restore citizenship quickly to people who have discovered they are no longer Canadians because of a little-known section in the law.
Read the full story
Montreal researchers find link to potential breast cancer treatment
Monday, January 29, 2007
CBC News
Mice lacking a certain enzyme show resistance to the development of breast cancer tumours, a finding that could lead to new treatments for the disease, researchers in Montreal say.
Read the full story
Joni Mitchell strikes a chord
Monday, January 29, 2007
Greg Quill, The Toronto Star
Joni Mitchell's shining moment last night was not when she mounted the stage at Metro Toronto's John Bassett Theatre to be inducted by renowned American jazz composer Herbie Hancock into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Read the full story
Author ensures her words will be read
Monday, January 29, 2007
John Freeman, St. Petersburg Times
Since she made her debut in the '60s, the Canadian writer and author of The Handmaid's Tale has published in more forms than it seems humanly possible — poetry, short stories, children's literature, thrillers, a romance, criticism, even science fiction.
Read the full story
Du sirop d'érable issu de la nanofiltration
Mercredi, le 31 janvier 2007
Brigitte Trahan, La Presse
Nos grands-pères se retourneraient dans leur tombe et diraient sûrement que le diable est pris dans la cabane s'ils savaient qu'aujourd'hui, on a de moins en moins besoin de faire bouillir l'eau d'érable pour faire du sirop.
Lire en détail
Opinion/Editorial
Hot on the environment, and willing to sacrifice
Saturday, January 27, 2007
The Globe and Mail
At this time a year ago, climate change barely made it onto the public's radar screen. Among the issues of greatest concern to Canadians, the environment was rated the most important by only 4 per cent of people, far behind health care at 25 per cent and also trailing crime, corruption and the economy.
Read the full story
How Canada can make a difference in the Middle East
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
The Honourable Peter MacKay, The National Post
Last week I visited the Middle East for the first time as Canada's Foreign Minister. I went to see and listen for myself. While there, I met with political, business and community leaders.
Read the full story
One NATO Is Not Enough
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Joseph R. Núñez, The New York Times
IN international relations, leadership often involves getting allies and friends to do things they have not done but need to do. For example, one challenge facing America is to get more European countries to do heavy lifting in Afghanistan, where British, Canadian, Dutch and American troops are bearing the brunt of battles with Taliban forces. This needs to happen if NATO is to make good on its commitments in Afghanistan, which rightly have wide international support and legitimacy.
Read the full story
