Retirement Savings Dept: Within a week, Wall Street was unrecognizable, its marquee firms gone, swallowed or radically transformed in an effort to survive, according to Globe And Mail. There are many ways to tally the casualties of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression: hundreds of failed banks; millions of people out of work; trillions of dollars in home values and retirement savings vaporized and the result was chaos. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 4.4 per cent in a day. By Tuesday, the bread-and-butter funds used by Americans as a substitute for bank accounts threatened to collapse. The same day, the government rescued the giant insurer American International Group, as it, too, tottered on the edge. On Wednesday, the stock market plunged again, by almost 5 per cent. By the end of September, some of the nation's largest banks had begun to crumple. As reported in the news.
@t globe and mail, american international group

Sound Structures Dept: "He's gone to the new market with the rest of them," says the vendor at Mary's Bread Basket, according to Montreal Gazette. Mary's Bread Basket, famous for its delicious cinnamon rolls and strawberry cream cheese croissants, is one of a reported 70 outlets out of 200 that will remain at the original Halifax market location and angela Cochrane mostly misses the musician who used to stand by her Halifax bakery -guitar in hand -while singing playful renditions of Puff the Magic Dragon. Cochrane is referring to the brand new and much-anticipated Halifax Seaport Farmers' Market, which - aside from being touted as one of the most ecologically sound structures in Canada - is almost twice the size of its predecessor. As reported in the news.
@t montreal gazette, strawberry cream

Genuine Relationship Dept: Now, the incidence of office relationships, once the primary source of couples meeting, have swung back toward a historic mean. Nevertheless, with the development of sexual harassment and negligence law, they are replete with problems, fodder for litigation and even extortion, according to Montreal Gazette. But what constitutes harassment in the workplace when the relationship involves consenting adults? Canadian courts have outlined examples: At one extreme, it can be difficult for a vulnerable new immigrant, a single mother with little command of the language or knowledge of the law, to resist persistent overtures from the person who evaluates and, potentially, promotes her and whether a romantic liaison, an extramarital affair, a tool to ascend the career ladder or a serious and genuine relationship, office romances are back in the workplace, after a brief hiatus occasioned by widely publicized harassment complaints and resultant corporate vigilance. Employers must bear the burden of ensuring a harassment-free workplace. But that is far from easy, considering there is often little separation between "work" and "lifestyle," especially for successful professionals. Employers ill-equipped to address the issue of intimacy between employees could find themselves a target for very public harassment claims. As reported in the news.
@t harassment in the workplace, negligence law

Action Democratique Dept: A note to the 15,000 people of Saint Laurent who voted for demerger in 2004: You outnumbered the other side 3-1 that day, but lost anyway. Now Jean-Marc Fournier, the man who rigged that vote against you, wants to be your member of the National Assembly, according to Montreal Gazette. Refusing to vote, or spoiling your ballot, is not enough. We invite you to vote for Action democratique candidate Jose Fiorilo, an immigrant, family man, and small businessman who lives in the riding unlike Fournier speaks several of the riding's numerous languages unlike Fournier , and is not in the Liberal elite that takes allophones and francophones for granted unlike Fournier and send Fournier a message By voting against him in Monday's byelection, you can repudiate him personally and send a message of discontent to Premier Jean Charest as well. As reported in the news.
@t marc fournier, montreal gazette

Village Pond Dept: Apparently the only way that failed refugee claimant Gloria Patricia Uribe can satisfy Immigration Canada she and her toddlers face mortal peril in narcocontrolled Columbia is to be deported and get herself and her Canadian-born kids killed. They wouldn't be the first rejected claimants to be returned to their homelands only to meet violent deaths, according to Montreal Gazette. I thought we could do better. Apparently not and re: "Potential deportee appeals for asylum," Gazette, Sept. 8 . This reminds me of the old forensic test for identifying witches. The accused woman would be dunked in the village pond. If she floated, clearly she was a witch to be burned or hanged. If she drowned, well, too bad, but she had at least demonstrated her innocence. As reported in the news.
@t violent deaths, montreal gazette

Disruption Dept: How can waves of newcomers to Canada feel they belong here?, according to Vancouver Sun. The disruption that comes with pulling up stakes and leaving one's country -whether China, India, the Philippines, Nigeria or Norway - can be shattering, even leading to depression and the University of Victoria's Zheng Wu is leading an important study into one of the most profound challenges facing Canada, which has the highest per-capita immigration in the world. That question, explored by Wu and his sociological team, is particularly crucial to cities such as Vancouver and Toronto, where about two out of five residents are foreign born. As reported in the news.
@t vancouver sun, university of victoria

Arenas Dept: Alberta hockey fans are hoping Calgary and Edmonton can cash in on federal funding for new arenas. "If they're going to do it for one, they should do it for all instead of just buying votes in Quebec," says Brian Speirs, a hockey fan in Calgary. As reported in the news.
@t speirs, hockey fans

Equality Rights Dept: R. Douglas Elliott, an equality rights expert who represented the Canadian AIDS Society in the case, says the judge made a serious error in declaring Canadian Blood Services a non-government entity, according to CTV. Though Freeman attempted to argue that his rights were violated when the blood agency discriminated against him because of his sexual history of having sex with other men, Aitkin ruled that the Charter of Rights didn't apply in this case and a Toronto lawyer believes Thursday's court decision that Canadian Blood Services has the right to ban gay men from donating blood is more than just disappointing; it sets a dangerous precedent for how governments can shirk their Charter responsibilities. In the decision, Ontario Superior Court Justice Catherine Aitkin ordered a Toronto man, Kyle Freeman, to pay $10,000 to the blood agency for lying about his sexual history while donating blood. As reported in the news.
@t kyle freeman, ontario superior court

Public Confidence Dept: That inquiry could colour the final stages of negotiations for a new RCMP contract. The squeaky-clean national force that took over community policing in British Columbia in 1950 – abruptly replacing the B.C. Provincial Police – is now facing a crisis of public confidence, according to Globe And Mail. As the former solicitor-general, and a former municipal chief of police, Mr. Heed said B.C. must assert more control over its police. He said he has heard too many times the RCMP promise to do better following controversy. “Somehow, mistakes continue to be made,” he said in an interview this week and but forces outside of cabinet are mustering, urging Mr. de Jong to instead seize this opportunity to rethink the crazy quilt of policing that covers the province. Critics will have a chance to advance their case when a public inquiry, announced Thursday, examines how two arms of police – the RCMP and the municipal Vancouver force – botched the hunt for serial killer Robert Pickton. Already, the Vancouver police – who have long pushed for a regional force – have signalled their intent to use that forum to press for “systemic changes” to policing in the province. “We have an opportunity that comes only once every 20 years to make policing better in British Columbia,” said Kash Heed, the Liberal MLA for Vancouver-Fraserview. “Let’s not blow this opportunity.” As reported in the news.
@t municipal chief, regional force

Montreal Gazette Dept: Cities used to have a compelling raison -safety, commerce, the interchange of ideas. Now modernity has rendered them unnecessary for commerce and ideas, and too often they offer far less personal security than the reputed badlands beyond urban walls. Think about it: How do you like your chances with citified goons out of 24 or the bar scene in Star Wars, compared with happening upon a black bear browsing for berries in an alpine meadow?, according to Montreal Gazette. The river is 50 metres wide and not particularly distinguished for its beauty or strength. But it is the barrier, or moat, that has to be traversed -by swimming -to retrieve the canoe stashed in the cabin. The canoe serves as a ferry between cabin and car while we're in residence. Then one hauls it up the bank and stows it in the cabin, and -with the Labrador puppy, of course -swims back across to the car and the long road home to "the social ramble" that "ain't restful" as Satchel Paige reminded us and steve McQueen, the quirky movie actor, said he'd rather wake up in the middle of nowhere than in any city on the planet. Roger that, bro'. It's funny -odd funny -that only after some time spent in a city does one discover that what he really was looking for is something he left behind, back where his heart is. On the water, in a canoe, on a mountainside, or -as in our case -in a river's-edge wilderness cabin. As reported in the news.
@t alpine meadow, satchel paige