Tim Hortons Employee Fired

Nicole Lilliman, a 27-year-old mother of four children has been fired from her job at Tim Hortons after she gave away a free Timbit to a baby. The retail value of the Timbit is $0.16, however, on the day following the incident, her manager called her into the backroom of her Tim Hortons and made her sign a letter of termination stating that she had given away the Timbit. The woman had had aspirations to become a supervisor at Tim Hortons however her hopes were soon dashed after being fired. She is now in search of work that will enabled her to provide for her children.

This is an extreme way of dealing with this issue. The mother was simply trying to be nice and give to a young child. I understand where the manager was coming from by disciplining Mrs. Lilliman, you do not want it to become a habit of giving free food away however it is far too excessive to fire an employee over such a small thing. What should have been done in this instance is the employee called in and explained to why Timbits can not be handed out for free. If the employee was given a warning on the subject i am sure it would not happen again, it is just that in this case, the manager took the wrong course of action for the issue.

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/080508/K050808AU.html

City Of Toronto Considered High Risk Employer

The city of Toronto has been given 39 orders to correct unsafe working conditions in the second half of 2007. The orders were issued by the Ministry of Labour for unsafe excavations, guardrails, stepladders, and scaffolding. A report says that the city posted 1,924 lost-time injuries last year, up 7.7 percent in one year. In certain sectors of government work injuries have been decreasing like garbage collection, road maintenance, and fire protection but this is being overshadowed by the overall bad numbers. In 2007, the city paid workers $30.9 million in compensation up from the $29.8 million in 2006.

This is not acceptable that the City of Toronto is not a safe working environment. As Mayor David Miller has said, it is not very difficult either to provide these safe conditions, it can be as simple as having ramps, guard rails, proper scaffolding, etc. If there are poor contractors that the city is useing, they should not be rehired. Currently, there are unsafe working conditions in the City of Toronto and this ends up costing tax payers millions, something must be done in this situation and it can be very small changes.

Solar Roof For Markham Walmart

Walmart Canada has produced plans this morning to build the world's largest rooftop solar-energy system in the country. This solar-panel will be built atop the new Walmart superstore in Markham Ontario this year and has the potential to spread nationwide through the retail chain. Ontario's Ministry of Research and Innovation is donating $3 million to the project. This project will provide emission free electricity and heating to the Walmart Store, this can end up taking off 390 tonnes of gas emissions per year. The contract has gone to a small local company, tool and die maker, who have been struggling in recent years.
It is great to see such a large business taking initiative in eco-friendly energy options and supporting local businesses. Even though i am not a supporter of Walmart, it is good to see that they are looking into new types of technology to help the environment as well as supporting local businesses like Tool and Die Maker, as these are two prominent problems in our world and economy today.

http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/article/428983

Cyclist Dies After Injuries Sustained

On Thursday, a 57-year-old cyclist died after sustaining injuries from being hit by a cube van. The events took place at around 1 p.m. when the cyclist was traveling along Eglinton Avenue. The occupant of a parked car along the roadside opened his driver side door. The cyclist collided with the open door, lost control and fell onto the road where he was hit by a cube van. The man died four hours later in hospital.

This is a tragic occurrence and very unfortunate to have happened. This incident seemed to have been an accident and somewhat of a fluke, however the driver of the parked car should have been more aware of what was going on around him. I would say that the blame falls on his shoulders as he should have been watching when he opened the door. Riding a bike quickly on the road the cyclist would not have had adequate time to react. People should be more aware of the events taking place around them including things like opening the door of a parked car.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/05/23/cyclist-death.html

New Powerplant

A new power plant is set to open on Toronto's waterfront. The Portland Energy Centre has two natural gas turbines, these turbines will be tested until the planned opening on June 1st. This power plant is expected to supply around one quarter of Toronto's overall energy needs. The power lines coming from Pickering are just about maxed out and the city was warned that they could face brownouts, this problem however will be resolved upon completion of the plant. In addition to the two gas turbines, an additional turbine will be introduced in the fall that will run off steam from the heat of the first two turbines. Some criticts like Greg Bosner tried to stop the plant from being built in this area and instead build up the parks and recreations aspect for the neighborhood.

Although i think this is a great idea to build a new power plant to supply energy to our growing city, and i think that it is also smart to have another turbine run off the heat of the previous two to save energy and resources i agree with Greg Bosner. To build the power plant on the lake front is in my opinion a mistake. It could have been built in another location more removed and inland so that this area could be developed for parks purposes to aid the surrounding communities. It is good that a new plant is being built to stop the energy crisis the city is in but it should have been built elsewhere.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/05/23/portlands-energy.html

Parents Charged in Infant Abandonment

A thirty-year old couple has been charged for abandoning their baby daughter in a freezing parking garage back in January. In January, the 11 month old baby was found by a passer-by lying face down on the concrete in -14 C weather with minor cuts and bruises on the face. The baby is now in a foster home and the parents are being charged with a number of things under the criminal code including, failing to provide the necessities of life, abandoning a child under the age of 10, assault causing bodily harm and criminal negligence. The parents have been found through tips and have moved to Kitchener in April, following the events.

If in fact the parents charged turn out to be guilty of abandoning their child, then i think that they should be punished harshly. It is a horrible thing to abandon a defenseless infant to a sure death. The parents should be held accountable for this crime and should be punished accordingly.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/05/22/angelica-leslie.html

Man Turned Down On Award

A man was recently turned down for his $300,000 lawsuit against Culligan of Canada Ltd. after he found a fly in his water bottle. The man claims that after his experience with the water bottle he had trouble sleeping, working and his sex life even went down. The man has been assessed by a number of doctors that say he now has sevre depression, anxiety and phobias of flies. The man was after a lengthy trial turned down for this lawsuit.
This is insane that this man could get severe depression over such a small thing like a fly in a water bottle. This is taking things to the extreme and i find it extremely hard to believe that a man could conceive so many issues from such an insignificant problem. I understand that it is not very pleasant to find a fly in your water bottle, however to claim a $300,000 lawsuit against Culligan for your psychiatric problems is ridiculous and a complete waste of tax payer's dollars to bring this to court. I am glad the man did not receive compensation for this ridiculous claim.

http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/428663

Donkey Jailed

A Mexican Donkey is doing time in southern Mexico on charges for assault and battery. Police say the donkey was sent to a jail that is usually used for people that display public drunkenness and other public disturbances. The donkey was sent here after it reportedly bit and kicked two people near a ranch. The donkey bit and kicked the two men giving one of them a broken ankle. Strangely enough, this is not the first time that the Chiapas have thrown animals in jail. In the past they have sent a bull to jail for devouring crops and destroying two wooden vending stands. A dog was also held in jail for twelve days before his owner agreed to pay the $18 fine.
This is ridiculous that the police force in this region of Mexcio is locking up animals. I find it absurd that they would be locked up alongside people at the cost of tax-payers money. To lock the animal up is insane, what should have been done is a charge to the owner and fine that would free up room in jails and not take up tax payers money like this.

http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/427611

Body Of Canoeist Pulled from Lake North Of Toronto

Early on Sunday Morning a canoe capsized at approximately 1:30 A.M. The canoe contained three men, all of which had been drinking and were canoing without PFD's. One of the men managed to swim to shore however the other two men ages 19 and 21 were not as lucky. One of the bodies has been recovered and the second is yet to be found.
This shows the recklessness that can be shown, alcohol and water should not be mixed, this just shows what can happen. People must be responsible in cases like this and avoid going near water after drinking and if required, use a PFD at all times.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/05/19/bodies-search.html

Yard Sale Raises Money for China Earthquake Relief

A yard Sale at an Edmonton Church on Monday allowed the Chinese community to raise relief money for victims of the south-west china earthquake. The sale included everything from clothing to household appliances. All of the money raised from the sale will be donated to china victims through the red cross.

I think that this is taking great initiative and looking out for others in our global community. Even such a small scale fund raising activity can have huge implications on the outcome. More people should follow the example that this community is showing and help others around the world in times of need such as this one.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2008/05/19/edm-china.html

Calgary Zookeeper Injured by Elephant

A Zoo worker was recently injured while cleaning an elephants viewing pen. The worker was pressed against the wall by the asian elephant, Swarna. The man was sent to hospital with cuts and bruises and has spent the day recovering. This is yet another problem that has been facing the Calgary Zoo in recent weeks following the stingray incident.
This is yet another problem that the Calgary Zoo has been facing. Although this one is not related to the public, i believe that the Zoo should introduce something to provide more protection to both animals and people. With so many issues occurring at the Zoo it is evident that something needs to be done.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2008/05/19/zoo-keeper.html

3 People Perish in Blaze

Family members mourn the sudden death of 3 victims that died in a house fire. Annette Turner, 46, Bradley Merasty, 20, and Merasty's four-month-old son all perished when their house that they had been renting caught fire. The fire took place in Cormorant, Manitoba and the RCMP are still investigating the cause to the blaze.
This is a horrible thing to have happen, and with the entire house dying it is astounding that nobody survived. Unless there were other unknown complications i think that the household should have had a plan in place in case of a fire, this could have prevented such a horrible thing from happening if all people in the house knew what to do in case of fire.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2008/05/19/mba-fire.html

Austrian Man Confesses To Locking up his Daughter

A 73-year-old Austrian man has recently admitted to locking up his daughter and fathering her children. The man imprisoned his daughter in a windowless cell in his basement for 24 years and fathered her seven children. He originally locked hr up at the age of 18 and repeatedly had sex with her. The man, Josef Fritzl, also admitted to incinerating a newborn baby boy after it died shortly after birth. The father brought her down the basement in 1984, drugged her and handcuffed her. Since then, 3 of the children have been raised by the father in his house and the other three never left the basement, and have never seen the sun. The cell was protected by reinforced concrete an electronic lock with a key less entry system and a soundproof door to stop her from being heard or escaping.

This is astounding that this could go on for so long that nobody noticed. I would have at least thought that the wife would have noticed and set their daughter free. It is horrible that the man has gotten away with this for so long and ruined his daughters prime life. I do not know how nobody noticed three more children appearing in the family even though the wife is not pregnant. This story is baffling and it is amazing to believe that it lasted for so long.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/04/28/austriaslave.html

Vancouver Olympics Security Cameras

Cameras that the RCMP plan to implement in Vancouver for the 2010 winter Olympics have raised some concern over privacy. This cameras will be placed in approximately 100 Olympic sites. The public has been reassured that the recordings will only be viewed by select few for the purpose of security.

I do not see this as an issue if the cameras are being placed in public areas. If the purpose of the cameras is security i am a full supporter of the plan. This is not very different from most of the major urban centres in Canada and i do not see why concern should be drawn in this instance.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/05/12/bc-olympic-security-cctv.html

RCMP Taser 82 year old

An elderly man in Kamloops, BC was tasered while in hospital. He had recently undergone bypass surgery and requires an oxygen tank to breath. While in hospital the man pulled a knife an refused to put it away. After the nurses called the RCMP, the man was subdued by taser. The man was in a delirious state and nurses say it sometimes happens when he receives a lack of oxygen.
This has become a big ordeal over tasering the 82 year old while in hospital. In this situation however, i believe that the RCMP has not enforced the law unjustly. No matter the age, the police is required to take precautions when people are endangered. The police in this case did not overreact or use excessive force and for that i think that it was the right thing to do no matter the age of the criminal.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/05/08/bc-kamloops-man-taser.html

Gas Price Drops

The price of gas dropped on Wednesday Morning in the GTA. The average drop in price was 3 cents per litre. That means the regular gasoline in the GTA costs a total of $1.19 per litre. A survey of gas prices in Canada leads to a country-wide average of $1.25 per litre. At the same time, the United States are paying a record high average of $3.60 per gallon, this converts to $0.96 Cdn per litre.

This is unfair for the united states to be playing an average of $0.30 cheaper than Canada. As it is Canada is paying less than many countries internationally. I don't think that this should be tolerated. One of the main reasons for the low gas prices in the United States is because they declare war on countries that have resources such as oil. The prices of gas should not be dependent on the size of a military and the willingness to invade.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/04/30/gta-gas.html

More Patients to Receive Healthcare at Home

Ontario will soon be introducing a new plan to free up emergency rooms by reducing the number of patients. This "comprehensive strategy" plans to reduce the number of patients who are taking up hospital beds when they can receive the needed care at home, the new plan will include releasing patients that are not in need of beds to their homes and allowing care to be received at individual residences.
I think that this is a great idea. It has taken the province a long time to come up with a plan and i think that this one has the ability to become very successful. If the patients are able to be properly cared for at home, this allows people with immediate issues to have rooms available. If this plan can be introduced properly, it has the makings of an excellent solution to waiting times in emergency rooms.


http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/04/24/emergency-health.html

Toronto Moves Against Gun Violence without Ottawa's Help

Ontario is considering implementing a law that would give police the right to impound vehicles and strip citizens of their license if they are caught with illegal firearms in the vehicle. The city is planning to implement this as a potential tool to combat the gun violence in the city. They are creating this rule as they have not received help from Ottawa to impose a full hand gun ban. If this bill is passed, it will give Ontario partial control over handgun use. Mayor David Miller, has long asked for a handgun ban, and says that incidents of gun violence can't be properly enforced without a total ban. Miller has posted a petition online calling for the federal conservatives to ban all handguns, this petition had 16,000 names as of Wednesday morning.

This is an excellent initiative on the part of the city of Toronto. In the past few years, there has been much issue directed towards the gun violence in our city and it is good to see the municipal and provincial governments take a forwards stance on this issue. Although it will not completely end the problem, it will deter the use of illegally obtained handguns and work as a temporary patch the the issue, until a ban on all handguns can be enacted.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/04/10/ont-guns.html

Red Light Penalties

Toronto is determined to crack down on motorists that run red lights. On Wednesday, the public work's committee for the city voted on Wednesday to ask the provincial minister of transportation for stricter new penalties and fines for motorists that run red lights. The city of Toronto also plans to increase the number of red light cameras to 100 intersections with cameras, this is triple the previous amount. The councillors also want the fines for running a red light to be increase from the current $180 to a $500 fine. The councillors also plan to ask the province for an increase in demerit points and the suspension of drivers that are repeat offenders or drivers that cause injuries by committing the offense.

I think that this is completely acceptable to increase the penalties as it is a very dangerous act. By implementing stricter penalties it will deter motorists from running lights and putting themselves as well as other citizens in danger. As a new driver, I would feel much safer if the motorists that are repeat offenders of driving through a red light are removed of their privileges to drive, it makes the roads safer and protects from dangerous motoring.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/04/09/red-light.html

Cold Reception For Olympic Torch

On Sunday, the Olympic torch arrived in London as part of the relay to Beijing. It was greeted by protesters against the Chinese government's human rights record and the recent crackdown in Tibet. These tried to stop the torch from reaching its destination. The activists frequently got past Chinese officials as was as British police making attempts to put out the torch using a fire extinguisher as well as one attempt made by 3 protesters that got into a relay bus holding Olympic gold medalist, Steve Redgrave. One protester was even able to grab a hold of the torch before police officers wrestled him off the torch. Police say a total of 37 arrests were made.
Although I do not sanction the Chinese government suppressing Tibet through force, i do not believe that economic events should interfere with the Olympic games. The games are around to celebrate the success of each country's success in sport, it is unfair to remove the chance to compete here from the athletes that have trained hard to make it to this level. If it is necessary and if people feel strongly enough that the Olympics should be boycotted this year and the Chinese government stopped, there is the opportunity to do so, however, that opportunity is not available here in this ceremonial event of the Olympics.

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/amateur/story/2008/04/06/oly-torch.html?ref=rss

Nortel Cuts 2,100 Jobs

The high-tech equipment maker, Nortel, plans to cut 2,100 jobs. These job cuts will primarily be in north America. The company also plans to transfer 1000 jobs to lower-cost countries. This is the second round of company reconstructing, in February 2007 the company cut 2,900 jobs and transfered an additional 1,000 to cheaper regions.
This hurts the North American economy greatly, by making these job cuts we are losing many jobs for the purpose of these corporations to cut back on some expenses. Although it allows for less expensive products being sold here, we are losing jobs to other countries and we become heavily reliant on other countries. I think that the government should implement a way to discourage the movement of jobs to other countries to save on expenses. This could include taxes to the company when hiring outside of the main country, the government could use this tax money to give to laid off workers such as in this case.
http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2008/02/27/nortel-jobs.html

Teen Driver Charged For Impaired Driving

A 17-year-old male was charged with impaired driving when he crashed into a passenger car in Toronto's North End on Sunday. The 15-year-old girl in the car was later pronounced dead in hospital. The police have said that speed and alcohol were both factors in the crash. The 17-year-old hit another vehicle, spun out of control and struck an empty bus shelter. Four other people have suffered minor injuries and the 17-year-old boy has been charged with impaired driving causing death and criminal negligence causing death.

In less then a month I will be able to drive and this sort of thing is very frightening. When people are driving at high speeds out of control, while impaired it is extremely hard to avoid. The passenger car from this story, was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time when a teen decided to be reckless. The government should place more responsibility on parents when these incidents happen, parents are able to take a stronger role in their child's life and prevent this from happening, and with added pressure from the government i think that these sort of problems will be reduced drastically.


http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/02/25/bathurst-crash.html

Catholic Highschool Teacher Charged With Sexual Assult

On February 6th 2008, high school teacher Ann Stewart was charged with sexual assault. Ann Stewart works at Robert f. Hall Catholic School as an arts teacher. She has been charged with sex crimes against a 16-year old boy, she faces one count of each sexual assault and sexual exploitation. Other than the charges, police are not releasing details of the allegations. Ann Stewart has been suspended temporarily from teaching with pay. Stewart has been working with the board since 1999.

This article is very close to me personally, Mrs. Stewart is a mother of one of my friends on my hockey team. There is currently a Facebook group supporting Mrs. Stewart and it speaks of how she is such a great teacher, that always went the extra mile to help out students. The arrest of Mrs. Ann Stewart shows the change in the Canadian School System. Teachers nowadays are pressured to stay further and further away from students, this affects the learning of the students because they are unable to receive the close learning that they were able to in the past. The way the education system has become is terrible, everything is done very cautiously to avoid these sort of mishaps. This is just an example of how the education system is getting worse because teachers are becoming more and more afraid of being pulled into one of these false accusations.

http://www.caledonenterprise.com/news/article/42623

New Home Prices

The year-over-year growth rate in the prices of new homes accelerated its rate of increase for the first time in 16 months in December. The overall Canadian year-over-year rate rose 6.2 between December 2006 and December 2007. This is mainly due to a strong housing market in the prairie provinces.
It is great to see that Canadian Economy has become so much stronger in the past few years. With the rise in the value of the Canadian dollar, and a growing demand for houses, Canada's economy has reached a high. While the United States Economy continues to decrease, we find ourselves more and more prosperous in Canada. The problem that faces us with this boom in housing prices is that for low paying jobs it becomes increasingly difficult to purchase a new home in larger cities. These jobs are very important to the cities' infrastructure however if people working these minimum skill jobs and cannot purchase homes, we will find it increasingly more to find workers in these necessary jobs. The only available options are to make a better transportation available into the city so that these workers can buy outside of the city. The other option is to pay more to these workers so that they can afford a home in the city. I do not like the second option as these unskilled workers should not receive more than necessary for a job that could be done right out of elementary school. We must find a way to provide affordable housing to minimum wage job workers, while still gaining strength in the economy.

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/national/080211/n021102A.html

Afghanistan Mission - Confidence Vote

Prime Minister Stephen Harper plans to put the future of Canada's mission in Afghanistan to a Confidence vote. Harper's government wishes to extend Canada's role in Afghanistan past 2009. If he successfully receives enough extra combat troops and equipment. Harper is ready to open this up to a vote, which if defeated may force a federal election. The Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion say that his party wants to shift to a more humanitarian and reconstruction effort.
With not much support from the U.N. in the combat portion of the mission in Afghanistan I believe that it is important to continue a combat portion. What needs to happen is for Canada to try to persuade western European countries such as England and Germany to take a role in the combat portion. As of now, these countries are in less combat oriented missions in a more rebuilding position. It would be beneficial to Canada if these countries were to take a role in the main combat portion. This would mean that Canada could lessen the amount in combat and have part start rebuilding. This would mean that all the troops would not be removed at once, it could be done in stages, slowly moving to a rebuilding portion and having the combat mission divided equally between the U.N. This would compromise between what the liberals and conservatives are debating, while still remaining in a combat position, it would give more of an emphasis on rebuilding in the country.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/02/06/harper-afghanistan.html#skip300x250

Black Focused Schools

On January the 29th, the proposal to create black - focused schools was approved by the Toronto District School Board trustees. The board has recommended that the creation of an alternative schools should take place, one which focuses more on teaching about black history and culture.This is a plan to keep more black students in school because currently as many as 40% of black students don't graduate in Toronto High Schools.

In my opinion this is taking a step backwards for equality and human rights for everyone. centuries each race has been discriminated against for various reasons, and it has only been in the last half of a century that progress has actually been made towards equality. If we were to create black focused schools, this is once again segregating based on color. This means undoing the progress that has taken so long to be made up. I think that if black students are not achieving as graduating at a high enough rate, and the board believes that the way to fix it is by teaching more black history and culture, this should just be integrated into the existing school system's curriculum. It would be beneficial to black students as well as students from other backgrounds, this way there is interaction between different races and the everyone will be taught a true multicultural curriculum so that there is a higher understanding between the different ethnic backgrounds.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourview/toronto/2008/01/blackfocused_schools.html

McDonald's Highschool Credits

In London, the England the power to award high school credits has been awarded to a few large corporations such as McDonald's. The fast food icon now has the ability to offer credits for the completion of courses that involve skills required to run a McDonald's fast food outlet. This is the first time that the government has awarded national recognition to the corporate training schemes. This however does not mean that colleges and universities will accept these credits for the admission of students, it is still up to them whether or not they will accept the credits. The fast-food giant has been granted the approval to set up courses and have exams to teach students on the students on the skills required to run a fast-food outlet.
I think that this is an outrageous idea to offer a high school credit for having students go through a McDonald's training program. Although this is not available in Canada, the idea may become the topic of discussion here. By awarding the ability to give high school credits to large corporations such as McDonald's, we are in essence giving the educational system to businesses. By providing a McDonald's training program in high schools, we will be educating students with a biased opinion. To give this ability to corporations, we are not giving students an informed opinion, so if McDonald's is allowed to teach courses, they have the opportunity to groom the leaders of tomorrow in a way that makes them impartial to judgments involving McDonald's.


http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/298062

Regulating Car Emissions : How Tough Is Canada

Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon pledged that the regulations for new Canadian car's fuel efficiency will be monitored more severely, similar to the regulations set by the U.S. Government. This is the first time that the Canadian government has taken the steps towards regulation of car emissions. In the past, liberal governments have negotiated with the auto industry for a voluntary emissions standard.
I think that this is a great step for the Canadian Government to take in the fight against global warming and to help our environment. By reducing emissions from cars this makes for less carbon dioxide, a global warming gas, being released into the atmosphere. By taking the initiative to reduce emissions from automobiles the Canadian Government is providing a better future for all Canadians, by providing a healthier Canada with reduced pollutants. This means a lot to me as I will be living in Canada for a long time to come and plan on raising a family here.Keeping a Green and healthy Canada means a lot to me and I applaud the Canadian government on taking the initiative for for making a better Canada for all the citizens in it.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/your-car/emissions.html :