News

NDP Leader Jack Layton avoided the heated topic of separation when questioned yesterday. Pressed for details Layton said, “What constitutes a majority is 50 per cent plus one.”

Since the NDP nearly swept the province of Quebec in the last election, Layton knew the issue would come up.

Yesterday at a news conference held to announce the members of Layton’s shadow cabinet, it did. His ambiguity towards the topic has irked some politicians. PQ Leader Pauline Marois accused Layton of turning back on promises. Specifically, the Sherbrooke declaration that states 50 per cent plus one is enough to secede.

The Cree people of Northern Quebec are signing a deal with the province Friday. The Native American group is regaining control over certain parts of the province.

The deal indicates the creation of a regional Cree governement on their ancestral land of Eeyou Istchee. This will give them control of over 65,000 square kms of land.

Premier Jean Charest is making the announcement Friday, along with Matthew Coon Come, the grand chief of the Crees of Quebec. Negotations began over two years ago, when an independent study revealed Quebec’s failure in honoring its obligations towards the Cree nation. 

The Canucks are headed to the Stanley Cup Finals! The only Canadian team left in the NHL playoffs took down the San jJse Sharks in a double overtime 3-2 win Tuesday night.

The last time Vancouver made the Stanley Cup final was in 1994. Now that the Canucks have won the Western conference final, they will play either the Boston Bruins or the Tampa Bay Lightning for the Stanley Cup.

Animal-welfare advocates will be taking to the streets this Saturday in cities across Quebec. They will be protesting Montreal's use of for-profit animal-control service The Berger Blanc in many of the city's municipalities.

The Society for the Protection of animals, the body organizing the demonstrations, is also threatening the city with a tourism boycott. The group says they'll call a boycott if the city does not produce a written pledge that it will take over animal-control services by next year.

Over a hundred people have been found dead in Joplin, Missouri after a Tornado ravaged the town on Sunday. The death toll is the highest for a tornado in the US since 1953. Winds were measured at up to 320 kilometers per hour.

The town of Joplin has been utterly devastated. Buildings were levelled and cars were torn completely apart into scrap metal. Residents 70 miles away found debris from the destroyed Joplin Hospital on their driveways.

Montreal driver Alex Tagliani has claimed pole position for next Sunday's Indianopolis 500. He beat New Zealander Scott Dixon in Saturday's time trials. 

The Chip Ganassi-backed Dixon ran out of fuel in the fourth lap. He won the Indy 500 from the pole in 2008. 

Astonishingly, his teammate, defending champion Dario Franchitti suffered from the same problem. He'll start in ninth place. 

Tagliani's team operates on a small budget, making it that much more exciting to see them beat out high-budget owners like Ganassi.

If Projet Montreal leader Richard Bergeron has his way Montreal will be the proud owner of a new tramway by 2017. Bergeron wants a 37.5 kilometer tramway system, which would run down St. Laurent and Rene Levesque, to help stop the surge of young families moving out of Montreal and in to suburbs. A problem he says Montreal can’t ignore. Bergeron says that cheap reliable public transportation would help young families a lot.

Dominique Strauss-Kahan has been granted bail. The former head of the International Money Fund was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of criminal sexual act, attempted rape, sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment and forcible touching.

The judged announced on Thursday that Strauss-Kahn can be released on one million dollar bail. He also has to be placed under 24 hour home detention with electronic monitoring.

He released a letter on Wednesday denying all the charges. He also announced his resignation at the head of IMF. 

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will announce his new cabinet at a Rideau Hall ceremony Wednesday morning. According to government officials, Canadians should expect to see more of the same. Officials say that while there might be a few surprises, Harper's cabinet shuffle is unlikely to introduce new faces.

Jim Flaherty will continue as Canada's finance minister, a position he has held for five years. In Quebec, Harper is expected to reappoint Maxime Bernier to cabinet and elevate Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis and minister of state Denis Lebel. 

Attempts to force release of details pertaining to the Bixi financing plan were blocked for the third time Monday afternoon. Anie Samson of Vision Montreal placed three separate resolutions before the municipal council to gather information about the Bixi financing, all of which ultimately failed.

All three resolutions were denied the unanimous consent needed by Marvin Rotrand of Union Montreal.