News

Monday spelled the end of the Canadian penny, leaving several charities wondering waht will happen to their coin jars.

According to CBC News, several of the country's charity organizations have collected millions of pennies during a recent penny drive, preparing in advance for this day.

Feed the Children and Tim Hortons have gathered $70 and $1 million dollars respectively in penny drives dedicated to childrens foundations and feeding the hungry in third world countries.

On the negative end of things, some charities are concerned that fewer coins in circualtion could hurt fundraising efforts.

A recent report which was done in Quebec indicates that francophones throughout Canada are victims of slight culture loss.

According to the Gazette the report was made up by a Quebec independence group with some financial aid by the Parti Quebecois of Quebec.

The report is known as the Estates-General on Quebec Sovereignty project which consists of the data of 1,200 people throughout 13 regions of Quebec.

The report`s authors stated it identifies 92 ways in which the Canadian system has ignored the interests and values of Quebecers.

The head of the pro-independence group stated that he wants to remind people of how much the French language has diminished in Canada since the 20th century.

The city of Montreal has released its plan for the new Champlain Bridge.

According to the Gazette, the city’s proposal, unveiled on Sunday, outlines some ideas in the works such as two lanes dedicated to public transit, a 13-kilometre-long rail system and a toll booth.

Mayor Michael Applebaum says that even with added toll booths, drivers shouldn’t be the only ones forced into paying to maintain the bridge.

According to the CBC, recently released documents show that the Royal Canadian Mounties collected a file on the occupy Ottawa movement.

The file shows that the Mounties were very interested in the protest, including intensively searching though social media and questioning campus security after a meeting was held at the University of Ottawa.

Notes also show that the Mounties planned on using cameras for surveillance of the Confederation Park protest, but ultimately decided against it.

A United Nations inquiry is accusing Israel of trying to annex Palestinian territories.

According to The New York Times, a panel of three judges spent nearly six months examining Jewish settlements created in occupied Palestinian territories.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Quebec Premier Pauline Marois, will meet on Friday, but they won’t be holding a press conference.

In a report by The Gazette, the P.M.’s restrictions on question and answer sessions has prompted Marois to decline the request for a press conference.

According to Marois’s entourage, they were told to follow Ottawa’s system of taking questions from four journalists.

The custom of taking questions from a limited number of journalists with their names agreed upon in advance has been standard since Harper first took office in 2006.

A movement to prevent budget cuts to medical research in Quebec has begun.

Research centre representatives held a news conference yesterday to announce a campaign against the Parti-Quebecois' decision to cut 10-million-dollars in funding.

A CBC News report calls the campaign “Je Suis Michèle," named after ovarian cancer patient Michèle St-Pierre.

It was announced that Ontario’s Social Assistance system will undergo a major reform on Wednesday.

According to The Globe and Mail, Liberal leader Kathleen Wynne plans on making structural changes and raising welfare rates.

She wants to simplify the system and make it easier to navigate for those benefiting from it.

Wynne told the paper that this social issue is a priority for her and her party.

She will also work with the opposition and Toronto mayor Rob Ford on the project.

Wynne won the Liberal leadership race last weekend, making this her first concrete policy in her new position.

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Students in Arizona will be required to express love of country under God if bills introduced by two lawmakers are passed, reports Huffington Post.

Republican state representative Bob Thorpe’s proposal would require all high school seniors to “support and defend” the U.S. Constitution under oath.

Republican state representative Steve Smith’s proposal would require all 1^st to 12^th graders in public school to say the Pledge of Allegiance.

Currently the bill does not exempt atheist students or students of other faiths.

Parliament has officially resumed from its winter break amid the shouts of Idle No More demonstrators on Monday.

According to the CBC, protesters marched on Parliament Hill in a show of solidarity for aboriginals’ land and rights. They wish the federal government to change their policy towards indigenous people.