Massive Demonstrations Dept: The rally Saturday night at the Centre Pierre Charbonneau arena was billed as the start of "a vast mobilization.", according to Montreal Gazette. French must be the common language of all Quebecers, Beaulieu said and organizers of a weekend rally that drew 3,000 people to protest proposed changes to Quebec's law governing access to English language education hope it will be a springboard for massive demonstrations across the province. Mario Beaulieu, president of theSocieteSt. JeanBaptiste de Montreal, kicked off the rally by warning Premier Jean Charest's Liberal government that "our language has no price. Bill 101 is not for sale." As reported in the news.
@t jean charest, weekend rally

Vancouver Sun Dept: He is perfect for the job, according to Vancouver Sun. The similarities between these two heinous cases are chilling in terms of interjurisdictional breakdowns and police intransigence to the idea of a serial killer and attorney-General Mike de Jong should consider his predecessor Wally Oppal for the public inquiry into the crimes of Robert Pickton and the structural policing concerns they raised. Appointed to the old B.C. County Court in 1981, Oppal is familiar with precursor serial killer Clifford Olson and how he manipulated the system back then. As reported in the news.
@t wally oppal, clifford olson

Stop Loss Order Dept: The 32-year-old war resister marked his one-year anniversary of sanctuary by making a public appeal to the public and Canadian government for all Iraqi war resisters, according to Vancouver Sun. Watson said he's awaiting anxiously an coming House of Commons vote on a bill to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Bill C-440 would allow Watson to remain in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds based on his moral and political objections to a war not sanctioned by the United Nations, and the fact that he was subject to a stop-loss order by the U.S. military. A vote is expected later this month and while the war in Iraq may officially be drawing to a close, former U.S. soldier Rodney Watson's battle to stay in Canada continues from a small one-bedroom suite within the First United Church in Vancouver. "We are not criminals. We are taking a stand for peace and love. What you have here are people who have taken a stand against the government for a war that was deemed wrong," he said. As reported in the news.
@t first united church, immigration and refugee protection act

Police Association Dept: I haven’t changed my vote. I voted to move it to committee so there could be a review. The people who have approached me since the bill has been tabled have all indicated their concerns about the registry. I felt it was finally time we had an open discussion about the registry and whether it should be scrapped or whether it should be fixed, according to Globe And Mail. I’ve heard from people within my riding, I’ve heard from people across Canada, I’ve heard from the police association and the nurses association, women’s groups, the labour movement. I read reports, as well as written testimony. I had to take everything into consideration. From the beginning I’ve basically been impartial and why the change of heart? Who’s been approaching you? As reported in the news.
@t rsquo, nurses association

Research Poll Dept: Since the last Nanos research poll in June, his share of popular support among all voters has nearly doubled, from 17.8 per cent to 34.4 per cent. Among decided voters, he is at an eye-popping 45.8 per cent, fully 24 points ahead of second-place George Smitherman, according to Globe And Mail. That Mr. Ford should have 62 per cent of decided voters on his home turf of Etobicoke is no surprise. That an unabashedly suburban candidate who promises to make the car king and get rid of downtown streetcar lines should be leading in the old pre-amalgamation City of Toronto is astounding and the notion that voters would turn off Mr. Ford once they got a good look at him in the bright September sun simply has not panned out. To the contrary, the more they see of him, the more they like him. Far from rallying to stop the Ford-loving suburban hordes from seizing the city, downtown voters are joining the assault in growing numbers. As reported in the news.
@t streetcar lines, bright september

Brampton Dept: I waited for her, but she never came back, recalled the 16-year-old girl. Ever since their refugee claim was rejected in 2008, she and her mother, Yolanda Soto Jurando, had been on the move every six months to avoid immigration enforcement, according to The Star. Soto, a hotel cleaner from Mexico, had been picked up at dawn at a friend s house near Jane St. and Lawrence Ave. as she waited for a ride to a job site in Brampton and as always, Leonor Mongoy Soto got home from school, did her homework and waited for her mom to get home from work. That evening her mother eventually called from the Rexdale detention centre, instructing her daughter to leave the apartment immediately and move in with a family friend. As reported in the news.
@t jane st, family friend

City Hall Dept: The monument commemorates a notorious tax that about 300 Chinese men paid to live in Newfoundland, according to CBC. The monument sits in a small park by the annex of St. John's City Hall on New Gower Street and features a photo of Chinese men that was taken during the final years of the tax and a new memorial in downtown St. John's records one of the darker chapters in Newfoundland history. Newfoundland imposed the head tax of $300 in 1906 to curb what was perceived as a rush of Chinese immigration. The tax, which was worth at least three years' wages, remained in effect until 1949. As reported in the news.
@t chinese immigration, chinese men

French Language Dept: More than 3,000 people converged on the Centre Pierre Charbonneau Saturday night to fight for the security of the French language in Quebec society, according to CTV. The rally was considered the start of a major movement to keep French strong, said Mario Beaulieu of the St. Jean Baptiste Society and opponents of the province's proposed Bill 103 united with a common message that the French language is not for sale. The gathering was mounted by a coalition made up of about 30 organizations including major Quebec unions and the Commission scolaire de Montreal to press Premier Jean Charest to scrap the bill. As reported in the news.
@t st jean baptiste, quebec society

Opponents Dept: About 2,500 people converged on the Centre Pierre Charboneau Saturday night, according to CTV. The proposed law would allow immigrant parents to send their children to English school after spending at least three years in an English private non-subsidized school and opponents of the province's proposed Bill 103 united with a common message that the French language is not for sale. The gathering was mounted by a coalition made up of about 30 organizations including major Quebec unions and the Commission scolaire de Montreal. As reported in the news.
@t french language, saturday night

Shiso Dept: A few boxes away, Tomoko Koike shows off her shiso, a Japanese herb used in salads, soups and sushi. As two of 53 downtown peninsula residents with plots here, Milelli, a recent immigrant from Mexico, and Koike, from Japan, are part of an experimental garden, according to Vancouver Sun. "I meet many people here, practise my English, learn vocabulary," says Milelli, who later relates a story in which one of the other gardeners had an abundance of squash flowers and imelda Milelli reaches into her small garden box atop St. Paul's Hospital and pulls up a handful of wheat grass. They aren't trying to grow super-crops. They are trying to grow a healthy welcoming society. And it seems to be working. As reported in the news.
@t vancouver sun, wheat grass