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YEAR IN REVIEW 2011: Canada votes blue and orange
Canada’s voters dramatically changed the makeup of their Parliament this year.
2011’s federal election ushered in a Conservative majority while the NDP gained its largest share of seats in its fifty year history. This made Canada’s leftmost major party the Official Opposition to Harper’s right-leaning government.
The most monumental political shift was seen in Quebec, as Bloc blue was swept away by an orange wave of NDP support.
The NDP’s share of seats in Quebec vaulted from one to fifty-seven after the election.
The loser in this equation? The Liberal Party. The Grits plummeted from a seventy-seven seat Opposition to a thirty-four seat outsider. This came as a result of an election they forced with a vote of non-confidence in March. The disappointing result cost Party Leader Michael Ignatieff his job.
YEAR IN REVIEW 2011: Canada loses Jack
He had been battling prostate cancer for months, but had apparently gone into remission before the 2011 Federal election.
Fashioning a cane during the debates, Layton was seen as a feisty and inspirational leader to many. Being voted in the CBC election poll as most favourable leader to Canadians.
His beloved NDP was rewarded. They won the most seats in party history at 103. In Layton’s home province of Quebec the party earned an unprecedented 58 new Members of Parliament.
Following the election, Layton’s health took a turn for the worse. Looking extremely ill, in July, Layton announced that he would temporarily step down as party leader. But he never returned.
On his deathbed Layton wrote a letter addressed to Canadians which finished with these inspirational words:
"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world."
YEAR IN REVIEW 2011: Your Concordia wins CSU election
This year saw another highly contentious Student Union election.
Mostly composed of newcomers, the Your Concordia slate took on the Action-Vision-Fusion dynasty and came out on top.
Before the campaign, VP Morgan Pudwell created chaos in the CSU with her resignation. She said the CSU she ran with was corrupt. So it was not a surprise to many when she showed up just a few weeks later on the challenging slate.
Nothing seemed to go right from there on in. Illegal campaigning and general misconduct were some of the many election violations.
Chief Electoral Officer Oliver Cohen disqualified both teams following the election. But the Judicial Board overturned the ruling and re-instated both teams in the summer.
YEAR IN REVIEW 2011: Wintery Hot Accessible Love-in for Education is a success
Up sixteen hundred and twenty-five dollars for Quebec residents in five years.
So by joining forces with anti-tuition groups, the Concordia Student Union called a special general meeting to organize a Day of Action.
But there was a dilemma. No area on campus is large enough to house the twelve hundred students needed to reach quorum.
On Valentine’s Day, the Reggies terrace was crammed past capacity.
The Wintery Hot Accessible Love-in for Education or WHALE was a success.
Students also voted to lower the quorum to prevent the same capacity problem from happening in the future.
YEAR IN REVIEW 2011: Judith Woodsworth "resigns"
Twenty-eleven began with Concordia finding itself leaderless. Again.
President Judith Woodsworth was pressured to resign less than two years into her term. But not before agreeing to a huge severance package of nearly a quarter million dollars.
Which is equivalent to less than two years pay.
News came out in January that the Board of Governors had given Woods- worth an ultimatum. Resign and collect, or face an embarrassing public dismissal.
Concordia’s previous President Claude Lajeunesse was also told to leave by the Board before finishing his term in 2007.
Former President Dr. Fred Lowy has taken over on an interim basis until Concordia finds a new President.
China and India blast Canada for leaving Kyoto
China and India have blasted Canada over their decision to leave the Kyoto Protocol. This comes after Canada vowed to reject the Kyoto Protocol this week. Canada said the two highly populated Eastern nations were barriers to a better climate deal.
China’s state run news agency called Canada’s decision was preposterous and irresponsible. And an Indian official said Canada has jeopardized the whole UN convention on climate change.
But Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Canada is still working towards an agreement that would bind all the world’s emitters.
Employee taken hostage at Cowansville Penitentiary
A staff worker at Quebec’s Cowansville penitentiary was taken hostage by an inmate. After a nine hour hostage crisis the employee was set free. There were no obvious injuries.
No word as of yet on who the employee or inmate are. And the penitentiary has not told the public if they know of a motive behind the abduction.
The penitentiary is just southeast of Montreal. The Sureté de Quebec is investigating the incident.
News: December 14 2011
Read by: Katie Mcgroarty
Stories by: Chris Hanna, Joel Balsam
Produced by: Michael Lemieux
Guy-Concordia to get a facelift
Much needed repairs are coming to the Guy-Concordia metro station. This comes after reports surfaced over a cockroach infestation.
The renovations are a part of a two hundred and fifty million dollar plan to fix up Montreal’s metro stations. Spokeswoman for the Societé de transport de Montreal said they have prioritized renovations to this station.
Double the amount of turnstiles will be added to accommodate the estimated eight million riders who use the station. There are also plans to replace doors, lighting, ventilation and drainage systems at the Saint Mathieu exit.
The station has received increased traffic with Concordia’s new underground tunnels.
Work is set to begin in January. And the Saint Mathieu exit will be closed from March 5th to August 26th, 2012.
YEAR IN REVIEW 2011: Charlie Sheen acts out
Actor Charlie Sheen’s antics are nothing new but in early 2011 he took them to new levels.
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