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December 6, 2011
Read by: Joel Balsam
Stories by: Nikita Smith, Tara Brockwell, Aisha Samu and Niki Mohrdar
Produced by: Carlo Spiridigliozzi
MUNACA workers head back to work
Today is the first day that support workers at MCGill University head back to work after more that three months of strike.
Monday saw 71.5 per cent of MUNACA workers voted yes to the new contract.
Workers will now have a 2.6 to 3.2 per cent wage increase a year. Initially, they were offered an increase of 1.2 per cent. This pay rise will now allow workers to get the maximum pay in 12 years instead of 37.
The MUNACA strike affected many services on campus, such as laboratory and clerical support, registration, and student residence management.
According to a spokesperson for the union, members are relieved and happy that the strike is over.
Private daycare operators find bureaucrats inconsistent
The Quebec Association of Private Daycares wants the Charest government to overhaul its licensing policies.
The association accuses bureaucrats within Quebec’s Ministry of Family of evaluating similar applications for daycare licenses vastly different from one another. It wants the province to come up with a fairer standardized grading model.
Three quarters of daycare license applications for new spots have been rejected since 2008. That same year the Liberal government promised it would open up eighteen thousand new spots for children in Quebec. A quarter of those have yet to be made.
China's compromise fails to sway Canada on Kyoto
Canada is standing firm on its decision not to sign on to a second phase of the Kyoto Protocol. China’s compromise to start cutting its greenhouse gas emissions hasn’t swayed Environment Minister Peter Kent. Kent wants more details on China’s proposal to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in 2020.
Canada’s chief negotiator Guy Saint-Jacques stated that China has refused to live by the commitments of last year’s Cancun agreement. Talks in Cancun failed to make gains on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Canadian officials also want any new agreement to include all major emitters.But countries with emerging economies like China argue that commitments to cut emissions would limit their economic growth.
Talks to update the 1997 Kyoto agreement are currently taking place in Durban, South Africa.
Canada says it will cut greenhouse gas emissions by seventeen percent by 2020.
The gap between the rich and the poor increases
The gap between the earnings of the rich and the poor in OECD countries is expanding.
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, in 2008 the top 10 percent of Canadians average annual income was roughly 105 thousand dollars, which was 10 times higher than the earnings of the bottom 10 percent. The annual income of the bottom 10 percent was closer to 10 thousand.
The study also showed that the richest one per cent of Canadians have had an income increase of 5.2 per cent over the past 27 years.
To add to their increase, shares owned by the richest 0.1 percent of Canadians has more than doubled.
Tax benefits have only counterbalanced less than 40 per cent of wage inequality, which has dropped 30 per cent.
The gap between the rich and the poor is a trend happening in countless OECD countries. Italy, Japan, Korea, the UK, Israel, Turkey and the United States are all struggling with this as well.
"Honour killing expert" testifies at Shafia murder trial
A University of Toronto professor who claims to be an expert on honour killings told the courtroom of the Shafia murder trials that in some cultures, honour is more valuable than human life.
The professor, named Shahrzad Mojab, said that it’s almost expected for male family members to kill female family members if they threaten the family’s honour.
He said that this belief is strongest in the Middle East.
Mohammad Shafia, his wife Tooba Yahya, and their son Hamed are on trial for allegedly murdering four female members of their family.
Prosecutors believe the murders may have been honour killings, brought on by the girls having boyfriends and leading modern lifestyles.
Mojab is one of the Crown’s final witnesses.
Bixi comes to the South Shore
South Shore bikers rejoice! As long as the Longueuil city council approves the program, residents will soon be able to rent Bixi bikes as soon as next spring.
The Bixi program’s proposal would cost $1 million over seven years. Reportedly, it would include six stations and 70 bikes.
December 5th 2011
Produced By Melissa Mulligan
Read By Sarah Deshaies
Stories By Sofia Gay, Gregory Wilson, Daniel J. Rowe.
Putin's United Russia party suffers at the polls
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party will presumably suffer a major loss in the parliamentary elections.
96 per cent of the votes have been counted so far. Electoral officials said the party had less than 50 per cent. This will most likely result in United Russia loosing its two-thirds majority in the Duma.
The vote is seen as a popularity test for Mr. Putin who plans to run for presidency in March.
Opposition parties have complained of violations of election laws. Golos is Russia’s only independent monitoring group. It says 5,300 complaints have been logged regarding these allegations. An opposition demonstration was held in Moscow on Sunday. Police say over 100 people were arrested.
NDP leadership candidates discuss economy
The NDP leadership debates have officially begun. The first of six debates took place in Ottawa on Sunday.
Candidates were invited to talk about Canada’s economy. The debate was organized in groups of three for the nine candidates.
The ability to speak French of the candidates was tested as questions were made in both of Canada’s official languages.
Candidates represented ridings in 5 Canadian provinces. Thomas Mulcair and Romeo Saganash were the two MPs representing Quebec ridings. President of the NDP Brian Topp, Ottawa Centre MP Paul Dewar and Toronto’s Peggy Nash represented Ontario. Robert Chisholm, and Martin Singh were the candidates from the maritime province of Nova Scotia. And Niki Ashton was the only candidate to represent a prairie province.
Nathan Cullen is the only one for leadership from the NDP stronghold of B.C.
The leadership convention is set for March 24.
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