The controversial tale of bitumen
The $5.5 billion Northern Gateway project would see the raw form of oil, called bitumen, piped westward across 1177 km to BC’s coast in Kitimat – opening up the coastline for the first time to massive oil tankers. Most of this is designed for the Asian market, more specifically China. A second pipe, in the opposite direction, would carry a natural gas condensate. Given that the coastal area around Kitimat is notoriously difficult to navigate, and that the 525,000 barrels per day of oil would have to cross over 1000 rivers, waterways, as well as aboriginal lands, this proposal is not one that will be given the green light without lengthy deliberation.
Vancouver’s downtown HMV shuts its doors
The closing down of HMV in Vancouver is just another victim of a global decline in CD sales, and the rise of the digital music age.
Making the strip appealing
Strip/Appeal is architecture and design competition hosted by the University of Alberta intended to showcase innovative ideas of how to reinvent and reuse small strip malls.
Rypien tragedy a lesson for hockey fans
As a fan of hockey fights, it can be easy to forget just how real the combatants are. What Rypien’s death hopefully adds is the realization that these players are human, not just physically, but mentally as well.
Canada unveils designs for new $50 and $100 bills
Counterfeiters will soon be faced with mounting new challenges in reproducing bank notes, as the Bank of Canada has officially unveiled the designs for their new $50 and $100 bills. The upcoming change – which has been in the works since it was announced in 2006 – is unique in that it will see Canada begin printing notes on polymer instead of cotton paper.
CIVL’s Mood Swings receives national distinction
Delegates from CIVL Radio returned from the National Community and Campus Radio Association Awards in Halifax last week with even more hardware to add to their growing collection. Not only did UFV’s campus radio station bring home the trophy for Community Development but one of the station’s most popular weekly programs, Mood Swings, received honourable mention in the category of Best Music Program, beating out submissions from many of the NCRA’s 80 other member stations.
Canadian strikes reach an impasse
As the first round of negotiations for Air Canada comes to a fairly amicable end for their customer service employees, legislation has turned to deal with the Canada Post lock-out.
Canada Post strike: what you need to know
For the past seven months, Canada Post and its union workers have been in contract negotiations for around 50,000 staffers across Canada. According to the CBC, workers went on strike this week for the first time in the last 13 years. Unlike a general strike where all workers walk off, the union has chosen a rolling strike which allows consumers to be less affected while also slowly building pressure on the company itself.
Canadians call for change in Ottawa
The 41st Canadian general election will go down in history as a day of change for Canadian politics. Each of the five main parties – Conservative, Liberal, New Democrat, Bloc Quebecois, and Green – experienced significant change in the May 2 election.
Students in a post-election Canada
With a 40 per cent win, Stephen Harper’s Conservative Government became the majority leader of Canada last week, with the NDP close behind at 31 per cent. Despite all of their attempts to attract a larger voter turnout from citizens, the CBC reported that 61.4 per cent of Canadians voted – a slight jump from the 2008 59.1 per cent turnout. Despite all of the statistical data and party promises, the real question on the minds of students is: what does this mean for us?
UFV honours International Women’s Day
In 1931, Canadian icon Emily Murphy spoke the immortal words, “We want women leaders today as never before, leaders who are not afraid to be called names and who are willing to go out and fight. I think women can save civilization. Women are persons.” These words ring just as true for Canadians today as they did then, and Murphy is one of the many women who continue to be honoured on United Nations International Women’s Day, which was celebrated on March 8 at UFV. This year’s theme was “Equal access to education, training, science, and technology: Pathway to decent work for women,” and the event marked a serious milestone: the celebration’s 100th official year.
Cosa Nostra generation gap comes to fore with murder of prominent mafioso
With the death of Montreal mafia leader Nicolo Rizzuto, many, including Vancouver Sun writer Michel Viatteau, have heralded his passing as “the end of an era” for the “most powerful crime group Canada has ever known.”
Slouching towards Apocalypse: Velociraptors, Zombies and…Christian Nationalists?
On November 1st, Marci McDonald visited UFV to provide a commentary on her new book, The Armageddon Factor: The Rise of Christian Nationalism in Canada. Since its publication earlier in the year, this book has been making waves across the nation with its assertion that “slowly, covertly, the political process [in Canada] is being co-opted by an extremist vision of Christianity – one ultimately shaped by what I call ‘the Armageddon factor.’”
Afrigrand tackles AIDS in Africa
The HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa is causing the deaths of nearly an entire generation of parents, leaving grandmothers or eldest children suddenly saddled with the physical and financial burden of caring for an entire family.
Terror threats from Canada perceived as strong in aftermath of 9/11
How does a country strike a balance between fighting terrorism and protecting the human rights of its citizens? This is one of the many questions posed at the lecture held in the Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies on Wednesday, October 20. Entitled “Just Between Friends: Bilateral Cooperation, Bounded Sovereignty and the Human Rights Dilemma,” the event was hosted by the University of Western Washington’s Dr. Bidisha Biswas, a political science professor. It was part of UFV’s South Asian Lecture Series.
U.S. Consul General talks B.C.-Washington relations
In part two of our exclusive interview with Philip Chicola, the U.S. Consul General in Vancouver discusses B.C.-Washington relations.
Abbotsford activist sparks up in Commons to protest marijuana laws
Politicians battling it out on Parliament Hill October 4th weren’t the only ones blowing smoke – Samuel Mellace, of New Age Medical Solutions Inc., grabbed the public’s attention that day by lighting and smoking a joint in the Public Gallery of the House of Commons, in protest of what he considers unjust legislation surrounding the medical use of marijuana.
U.S. Consul General on NAFTA, American-Canadian business relations and a North American political union
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is now in its second decade of existence. The agreement has established a rapprochement between Canada, the United States and Mexico, and U.S. Consul General Philip T. Chicola, on a recent whistle-stop tour to UFV’s Abbotsford campus, believes that NAFTA will one day be subsumed into a more inclusive agreement that may include greater economic and political unity between the three countries, similar to the European Union.
Ontario universities hired professionals to lobby government
It was revealed that nine Ontario universities and colleges hired lobbying firms to advocate to the government on their behalf. Andrea Horwath, the leader of the Ontario NDP, announced the information to the provincial legislature on Oct. 5. It was obtained through freedom-of-information requests.
Hepatitus breakthrough at University of Alberta
University of Alberta researchers have pioneered a breakthrough in the fight against hepatitis C. It has long been known that the disease attacks the liver, causing insulation and cirrhosis of the liver and eventually liver cancer if left long enough. However, after just under two years of research, Christopher Power’s team of researchers have discovered that hepatitis C is also a disease of the brain.
