News

December 13th, 2012

Read by: Catlin Spencer

Stories by: Chloe Deneumoustier, Patrick Miller, Hannah Besseau and Carlo Spiridigliozzi

Produced by: Alyssa Tremblay


Plan for B.C. mine leaves Canadian workers out for four years

Mine

Two unions are challenging a mining company in court, in light of foreign employment for a northern B.C. mining project.

According to the Globae & Mail, the challenged company, HD Mining, obtained temporary foreign worker permits for the project. The course case shows that HD Mining will employ 201 Chinese miners using the work permits. The case also reveals the long-term plans for the project.


Canada accused of “war on science” by environmental groups

Canadian Quilting

Environmental groups are calling it a “war on science.”

According to Al-Jazeera, numerous groups are referring the decline of environmental and climate research budgets inflicted by the Conservatives as cash grab for the oil sands.

The federal government has stated that the cuts are part of an austerity program designed to reduce the country’s deficit.


Missing aboriginal girl found dead

Missing sixteen year old girl CJ Morningstar Fowler was found dead in Kamloops December fifth.

Fowler was a member of the Gitanmaax First Nation. Her death is suspected to be murder.

Wednesday her parents as well as the First Nation's leaders addressed the deepening issue of missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada.

According to newswire.ca, Aboriginal women in Canada are three point five times more likely to be subjects of violence.


Lisée drops second salary

Assistant Secretary General Receives Quebec Minister of International Relations, La Francophonie and External Trade

The Parti Quebecois’ minister for International Relations has announced he will drop one of his two salaries yesterday. 

According to CBC News, Jean-François Lisée won a seat in the National Assembly in September, along with an annual salary of over $150 000.


December 12th, 2012

Hosted & Produced by: Carlo Spiridigliozzi

Stories by: Audrey Folliot, Niki Mohrdar, Jamie-Lee Gordon & Gregory Wilson


Michigan to ban union fees

The Michigan state legislature banned a requirement for workers to pay unions fees as a condition for employment on Tuesday.

According to BBC News, Governor Rick Snyder signed the bill into law, while thousands of protesters were gathered in the streets.

Police in riot gear used tear gas and pepper spray to control the tension of a crowd of more than 10,000 protesters.


Manitoba hog farm may have tortured piglets

An animal rights organization secretly filmed the treatment of animals at a Manitoba hog-farm, and what they found was extremely disturbing, reports the Gazette.

In the video, employees can be seen swinging a piglet into a metal post to euthanize it, pulling on pigs’ ears and kicking them.

The organization, Mercy for Animals Canada, says their undercover investigator also found unsanitary conditions, including the presence of maggots and dirty water.

Mercy for Animals is asking Canadian grocery chains Loblaws, Metro, Sobey’s and Walmart Canada to phase out the use of gestation stalls and metal crates.


Ambulance technicians plan a strike during the holidays

May 2009 paramedic protest

After the student strike, Quebec could now face a strike from ambulance technicians during the holidays.

The CBC reported that the CSN Labour Federation, representing 60% of the paramedics and ambulance technicians in Quebec, had filled a strike notice for the holiday period.

The technicians have been lacking a contract since 2010 and are asking for a better pension plan.

They also ask for a revision of the salary scale.


December 11, 2012

Hosted by: Carlo Spiridigliozzi

Stories Written by: Carlo Spiridigliozzi, Saturn De Los Angeles, Danny Aubry & Hannah Besseau

Produced by: Catlin Spencer


Tobacco insider stands up for victims

Cigarettes cercueil

A renowned Tobacco insider is in Montreal this week to speak up for Tobacco victims.

Jeffrey Wigand is testifying at Quebec Supreme Court this week as part of Canada's largest class-action lawsuit between smoking victims and large tobacco companies.

In a report by CBC Montreal, Wigand testimony suggests that he was a former tobacco scientist at Brown and Williamson, a U-S based cigarette company in 1989.


New form of justice for indigenous peoples proposed

A new initiative in indigenous justice has been brought to the table.

A call for indigenous activists and allies to act and speak up about injustices has been set forth. The campaign is called Idle No More.

According to Rabble.ca it is coming out of the growing frustration of the silencing of indigenous rights across Canada.


Bilingual status to stay with municipalities, says minister

Vue d'ensemble

The rules for a municipality losing its bilingual status have been softened.

According to the Gazette, Bill 14 gives the P.Q. the power to remove a city or town’s bilingual status if their non-French speaking population drops blow fifty per cent.

The clause was implanted in a revised Charter of the French Language introduced last week by the minority P.Q. government in power. It represents a hard-line stance in P.Q. policies and has raised concern among the Anglophone community.


Canadian government creates new immigration trade skills program

The Canadian government is working on a new system to speed up the acceptance of skilled foreign tradespeople.

According to the Globe and Mail the Immigration Minister announced that Jan 2, 2013 will mark the beginning of a new federal skilled trades program.

The Immigration Minister stated that the program will decrease labour shortages within certain regions of the country.

Applicants within the program are required to have at least two years experience within their trade and to speak a basic amount of either language.


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