Cityscape

Quebec City blends old and new.

Montreal Riots -- Lessons for the nation?

A well written and balanced article in the Toronto Star about the rioting in Montreal. The problems are not peculiar to Montreal and whatever lessons come from this situation need to be applied across the country.




LAW AND ORDER

Montreal's 2 solitudes

BENOIT PELOSSE/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Police block a street in north Montreal during riots on Aug. 10, 2008. Clashes began after police shot and killed 18-year-old Fredy Villanueva during a brief altercation

Many blamed race for last week's clash between police and youth in Montreal's north end. The truth is murkier and goes to a philosophical split at the heart of the force itself

Aug 16, 2008 04:30 AM
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Sean Gordon
Quebec Bureau Chief

MONTREAL–This is how rough it can get on the meanest streets of Montreal's north end: It's a Wednesday night in late July, a street gang member nicknamed "Crazy" sits in a bar when a gunman bursts in and fires a volley of shots.

Less than an hour later, a 36-year-old man – apparently chosen at random – is shot and wounded in a café known to be a Mafia hangout.

Barely two hours after that, bullets slam into a third man as he sits in his car behind yet another bar linked to the Mob.

Police would later describe the man, who survived, as "being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Gang leaders have latterly accumulated sufficient muscle and riches to boldly launch a turf war with the Mafia figures who have traditionally controlled Montreal's drug trade.

The updated tally: five shootings; two robberies; one hostage taking. Police are bracing for more.

The epicentre of the violence, Montreal-Nord, is one of the most densely populated areas on the island of Montreal. The rectangular borough is also home to some of the city's poorest housing tracts.

Last weekend, riots broke out in the neighbourhood after police shot and killed 18-year-old Fredy Villanueva after a brief altercation in a park.

Even before that traumatic event, it was a part of town where relations between many citizens and those who police them had broken down more or less completely.

In an area largely dominated by the Bloods – teenaged gang-bangers and wannabes sport red kerchiefs to identify their allegiance – the cops are often seen as just another rival gang, who happen to wear the blue of their hated Crips rivals. And for the police, the gangs are holding the neighbourhood hostage and demonstrating ever more hubris, shooting at police vehicles and following cops home.

It's tempting to boil it all down and blame racial profiling, or the rampant gangs, or even to revive the canard that Francophone Quebecers – a hefty majority within police ranks – are somehow more bigoted than other Canadians (academic research shows otherwise).

But the reality is more nuanced.

Indeed, Montreal authorities are wrestling with similar problems as police forces in Toronto, New York and other major U.S. cities: Outbreaks of gun violence; wariness on the part of the community; a seeming inability to connect with youths drawn to the mythical gang life.

Police here have responded with a much-hyped "balanced approach" that offers prevention and rehabilitation for the fringe and petty criminals – including successful sports programs – and in-your-face repression for the heavier element.

The strategy claims a healthy component of so-called "community-based policing," but over the last 12 months, there's been a perceptible shift in emphasis.

Full story here:

http://www.thestar.com/News/Ideas/article/479599

Climate change not new?

Sand reveals people of the 'green Sahara'; Scientists combing a remote region for dinosaur bones found graveyards from two eras when the desert was fertile, writes

Thomas H. Maugh.
Ottawa Citizen, Aug. 16, 2008

The tiny skeletal hand jutted from the sand as if beckoning the living to the long dead.

For thousands of years, it had waved unheeded in the most desolate section of the Sahara desert, surrounded by the bones of hippos, giraffes and other creatures typically found in the jungle.

A chance discovery by American scientists has led to the unearthing of a Stone Age cemetery that is providing the first glimpse of what life was likeduring the still-mysterious period when monsoons brought rain to the desert and created the "green Sahara."

The more than 200 graves explored indicate that, beginning 10,000 years ago, two distinct populations lived on the shores of a massive lake, separated by a 1,000-year period during which the lake dried up. Among the scientists' surprising discoveries was a burial of a mother and two children with fingers intertwined, a find that puts a human face on the little-known people who enjoyed a brief visit to an Eden in what is normally one of the most forbidding places on Earth.

The first to settle the area was a group of tall, powerfully built hunters, gatherers and fishermen called the Kiffian, University of Chicago paleontologist Paul Sereno said at a news conference Thursday. The group that followed the Kiffian was a physically smaller band of pastoralists called the Tenerian, who relied on fishing and hunting, but also herded cattle, he said.

In addition to the graves, researchers found a massive collection of the remains of meals, tools, pots and other artifacts -- the detritus of everyday life.

The findings were published Thursday in the online journal PLoS One and in the September issue of National Geographic magazine. The Sahara has been a desert for untold millenniums. But about 12,000 years ago, a wobble in the Earth's orbit and other factors caused Africa's
seasonal monsoons to shift slightly north, bringing rains to the Sahara and greening it from Egypt in the east to Mauritania in the west.

About 8,000 years ago, the rains retreated, leaving the region once again arid and abandoned. A thousand years later, the rains returned for two millenniums, before permanently retreating.

The newly discovered site, called Gobero after the Tuareg name for the area, lies deep within Niger's Tenere Desert, a large region within the still larger Sahara. The site lay unobserved and untouched because it was literally "in the middle of nowhere," Mr. Sereno said. "There is absolutely no reason for anyone to go there."

Mr. Sereno had a reason -- a nearby table of 110-million-year-old sandstone "that has more dinosaurs in it of high quality than any other rock in the continent of Africa."

In 2000, Mr. Sereno and colleagues were on one of their forays in which they would travel as far as they could in one day, looking for new dinosaur bones.

"We were at the end of our rope," Mr. Sereno said, nearly out of water and ready to turn around, when he spotted a stone formation sticking up in the distance and decided to go a little farther. When they got there, they found animal bones scattered on the surface, exposed by the weather. Photographer Mike Hettwer wandered, then rushed back to the group.

"I found some bones," he said. "But they're not dinosaurs. They're human." The hand, probably belonging to a child, stood out amid the flat landscape, its finger blackened but intact. The researchers saw parts of dozens of human skeletons, including jawbones with teeth and skullcaps filled with sand.

Mr. Sereno and the group "tiptoed in and saw a dozen skeletons" but didn't disturb anything, he said. "I realized we were in the green Sahara." They left the site alone for three years while Mr. Sereno continued dinosaur excavations. Eventually, he excavated for three seasons, before being frozen out of the area in 2007 and 2008 because of clashes between the Tuareg and government troops.

One of the experts he took with him was archeologist Elena Garcea of the University of Cassino in Italy, a pottery expert who has spent three decades working in northern Africa.

She immediately spied small potsherds inscribed with a pointillistic pattern characteristic of a nomadic people called the Tenerian that lived 6,500 to 4,500 years ago. But she quickly found others that had a wavy, zig-zag pattern characteristic of the Kiffian, hunters and gatherers who lived 10,000 to 8,000 years ago.

That dichotomy continued throughout the excavations. One group of graves contained individuals who averaged more than six feet tall, with some astall as six feet eight inches. These individuals, the Kiffian, were folded in tight burial arrangements with their knees against their chests and arms at their sides.

Accompanying the graves were remains of elephants, giraffes, hartebeests, warthogs and pythons, as well as abundant six-foot-long, 300-pound Nile perch, which indicated the presence of a deep lake at the site during the period.

The team found harpoon points and fishing hooks as well as stone tools associated with the Kiffian. Their bodies were heavily muscled and robust, suggesting that they were active fishermen. In other graves, bodies were shorter and slender, characteristic of pastoralists who fished less and herded more. The same animals, as well as cattle, were associated with them, but the fish were smaller catfish and tilapia, suggesting that the lake was shallower during their occupation.

The most touching grave was the burial triptych. A young woman lay on her side. Pollen under her body suggested she was placed on a bed of flowers. Lying on their sides facing her were two young children, their fingers interlocked with hers, leaving a tangle of bones.

It is not clear how they died. The team is running DNA tests to confirm that they are mother and children.

CBA Meeting At Quebec

The Chief Justice of Canada addresses the CBA Council

This year's summer conference for the Canadian Bar Association is being held in Quebec City. The meetings generally get some media attention. Serious work and decisions are made but the most significant impact of the conference is the hallway meetings amongst lawyers from across the country. These hallway meetings strengthen the bonds of amity across Canada and this is important for nation unity. Seeing that, for example, lawyers in British Columbia face the same issues as lawyers in Quebec or Manitoba cannot help but build an ever closer union of Canadians.

Propane Cleanup Taken Over By City -- What does that imply? Maybe no money for victims?

This is not a good sign for local residents who want compensation.

Last week Sunrise said it would not try to reopen. Now we learn they are not fulfilling their duty to clean up. This suggests the company is insolvent.

Did they have adequate, or any, insurance that would cover the losses? Legally they probably should have but just because something ought to be does not make it so.

If Sunrise is gone there may well be no one who can be sued -- I have real doubts about the liability of the regulator or the City let along the Province.


Toronto takes over cleanup around propane blast site

The City of Toronto is taking over responsibility for the cleanup of properties around the site of last weekend's huge propane explosion, effective Saturday, the city announced Friday night.

Ontario's Environment Ministry issued an order to Sunrise Propane on Wednesday to clean up the blast site and the surrounding area.

The City of Toronto said that as of Friday, the requirements of the order for off-site work had not been met and the Environment Ministry had received no assurances that the work will be done "in a timely way."

Story here:

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/080815/canada/canada_blast_cleanup

Canadian Sentenced For Drug Trafficking

The sentence is bit long by Canadian standards but, provided she had a fair trial (and there is not suggestion she didn't) there doesn't seem to be any cause for ntional concern. Of course this is a tragedy for Ms. Kerr and her family. That said, six kilograms of heroin is a significant quantity and clearly intended for commercial trafficking. If someone goes abroad and commits a serious crime, provided they are treated with fairness in terms of a trial, it's hard to see any justification for complaint.

Ontario mom gets 25 years jail for drugs in Pakistan

Katie Rook
Canwest News Service
Saturday, August 16, 2008

A Pakistani court has sentenced an Ontario woman to 25 years in prison after about six kilograms of heroin were found in a suitcase the mother of three claimed was not hers.
Deborah Kerr of Brighton, Ont. was sentenced for drug trafficking on Wednesday, Foreign Affairs official Alain Cacchione confirmed Friday. A co-accused was acquitted, he said.
Kerr, 36, was en route to Canada when she was arrested at an Islamabad airport on Feb. 1, 2007.

Authorities discovered 6.2 kilograms in luggage close to where Kerr was standing.

Full story here:

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=a1aad42c-aa8c-4d27-8d68-d8da66a53003

Parliament Isn't Dysfunctional

Lawrence Martin in today's Globe talks about the claim that Parliament has become dysfunctional.

He reminds us of two things. First, the Conservatives are hardly innocent of causing chaos in committees -- remember their 200 page handbook on how to hijack committee meetings. Second, if Parliament is so dysfunctional how is it that it passed almost all the legislation put forward by the Government?

None of this is to say we shouldn't have an election this fall. But we should have one because this Parliament is tired and needs a new mandate and not because of a false claim of dysfunction.

Canada Wins A Silver!

The drought is over and lots of medawill follow! (Or so I hope!)

VANCOUVER (CBC) - The Canadian men's rowing pair Scott Frandsen and Dave Calder have ended Canada's Olympic medal drought.



The pair won a silver medal on the water at Shunyi Olympic rowing park on Saturday, the first Canadians to reach the medal podium in Beijing.





Full story here:





http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/080816/canada/oly_rowing_olympics_rowing_mens_pair

War in Georgia -- A remarkable link

Thanks to Johnathon for a remarkable link:


http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/08/14/journalists.shot/index.html

Video that aired on a Turkish television network Thursday showed reporters from two stations ducking for cover and saying their last prayers as their vehicle came under attack in Georgia.

Several journalists have been caught in the shooting between Georgian and Russian forces

One reporter was shot in the head in the attack, which happened Sunday, but his injuries were not considered life-threatening. All the journalists involved were safely back in Turkey on Thursday.

It's one of several incidents in which journalists have been caught in the shooting between Georgian and Russian forces.

The crews, from Turkish networks NTV and Kanal Turk, were traveling from Gori, in Georgia, to the South Ossetian city of Tshinvali when video shows bullets striking their vehicle.

The network NTV told CNN it was unclear who fired on the vehicle, striking journalist Levent Ozturk in his left eye.

St Lawrence from Quebec City

Inadequacy of Reasons

Today's Court of Appeal decision in R. v. Prokofiew, 2008 ONCA 585 gives a good example of the unusual circumstance where a trial judge's decision is set aside because of inadequacy of reasons:

[26] I agree with the position of counsel for the appellants that the trial judge failed to provide sufficient reasons to allow for meaningful appellate review. In reaching my conclusion, I have found helpful the recent decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Dinardo, (2008), 231 C.C.C. (3d) 177 (Sup. Ct. Can.), and R. v. Walker, (2008), 231 C.C.C. (3d) 289 (Sup. Ct. Can.).

[27] In Dinardo, Charron J. reviewed the jurisprudence that requires a trial judge to provide meaningful reasons for conviction or acquittal, with particular emphasis on the leading decision in R. v. Sheppard, [2002] 1 S.C.R. 869. In the course of this review, Charron J. emphasizes that an appeal court reviewing the sufficiency of reasons should adopt a "functional approach", examining the evidence as a whole and the submissions of counsel in the assessment of whether the reasons respond to the case's live issues. She emphasizes that it is only where "the trial judge's reasons are so deficient that they foreclose meaningful appellate review", that the appeal based on insufficient reasons will be allowed: Dinardo at para. 25.

[28] At paras. 30 & 32, in comments relevant to this appeal, Charron J. concluded:

[T]here is no general requirement that reasons be so detailed that they allow an appeal court to retry the entire case on appeal. There is no need to prove that the trial judge was alive to and considered all of the evidence, or answer each and every argument of counsel (Braich, at para. 38).

...

This Court emphasized in Sheppard that no error will be found where the basis for the trial judge's conclusion is "apparent from the record, even without being articulated" (para. 55). If the trial judge's reasons are deficient, the reviewing court must examine the evidence and determine whether the reasons for conviction are, in fact, patent on the record. This exercise is not an invitation to appellate courts to engage in a reassessment of aspects of the case not resolved by the trial judge. Where the trial judge's reasoning is not apparent from the reasons or the record...the appeal court ought not to substitute its own analysis for that of the trial judge (Sheppard, at paras. 52 and 55). [Emphasis added.]

[29] The principles espoused in Dinardo are recognized as well by Binnie J. in R. v. Walker at para. 20, who also refers to Sheppard and the principle that "[t]he appellate court is not given the power to intervene simply because it thinks the trial court did a poor job of expressing itself". Binnie J. also refers to Sheppard's recognition of a number of broad policy reasons that underscore the importance of the duty to give adequate reasons at para. 19:

At the trial level, the reasons justify and explain the result. "Reasons for judgment are the primary mechanism by which judges account to the parties and to the public for the decisions they render" (para. 15). The losing party is entitled to know why he or she has lost. Informed consideration can be given to grounds for appeal. "Interested members of the public can satisfy themselves that justice has been done, or not, as the case may be" (para. 24). "Trial courts, where the essential findings of facts and drawing of inferences are done, can only be held properly to account if the reasons for their adjudication are transparent and accessible to the public and to the appellate courts" (para. 15).

[30] It appears that the entire focus of the trial judge's reasons in this case was whether the Crown had proved that the appellants were guilty of conspiracy. She understood the issues, which were whether the Crown had proved a conspiracy and whether the appellants were members of it. My main problem with the trial judge's reasons is that she made so few findings of fact on her way to the conclusory finding that each appellant was guilty as charged - meaning guilty of conspiracy and the individual counts of fraud over $5,000 with which each appellant was charged. Consequently, the facts on which she based the convictions are lacking. Because reasons for conviction were not patent on the record, I am unable to determine the analytical path she followed in convicting the appellants. Consequently, the trial judge failed to provide sufficient reasons to allow for meaningful appellate review.

Religion in decline? Maybe people have always been irreligious?

The internet makes easily available much which was hard to obtain.



For example, John Foster's 1820 essay (well, at nearly 200 pages a short book) "Evils of Popular Ignorance" was, before say 2000, difficult to obtain, especially in a full and early edition. Now you can download a pdf of a first edition and read.



And a surprising read it is.



Much of the essay focuses on the religious character of England.



Here the book is illuminating because, far from being a Christian nation, Foster describes a nation of "spiritual" people ignorant of, and generally uncaring for, Christianity. He speaks of how the common people believed that God wouldn't punish them for all but the most brutal of violent crimes and how their view of Jesus was of a "gentleman badly used" by local politicians concerned to protect their privileges.



Jesus was a worthy role model but not anything much more than that.



Now Foster deplored his findings. I am interested not in how wicked England was but rather how similar 1820's England was England, and Canada, today.



Yes there are religious and learned people but they are in a small minority. It seems that it may have always been so.

Canadian Content? Northern Pornography?

As I'm sure you all know, the wicked Conservative government continues to gut Canadian arts. (See Liberal press release below).



Thank heavens for the saner heads at the CRTC who approved a new "Adult" cable channel that will feature at least 50% Canadian content (quaere, if there are, say, three actors/actresses in a scene does that mean at least two have to be Canadian?).



But for this special arrangement I doubt Canadian adult materials could find a market at all. After all, the fancy production values we see from the former Soviet Bloc just blow away (in a manner of speaking) our Canadian quality.



To my mind this new Canadian programming speaks to why we have governmental involvement in the arts. To promote Canada's finest; to let Canadians know just what Canada is about.



I just hope Rogers makes the new channel available soon!



For Immediate Release

August 15, 2008



Conservatives continue their ideological attacks on everything by killing five new programs in support of arts and culture



OTTAWA - With new cuts to culture and arts funding, the Conservative government is showing once again its complete disrespect toward our country's cultural institutions and a flagrant lack of vision that is hurting our arts community and culture, Liberal Heritage Critic Denis Coderre and Senator Francis Fox said today.



"The Conservatives are now showing clearly what they have in mind for Canada's arts and culture." said Mr. Coderre. "The lack of explanation for the cuts and the silence of the Heritage minister is unacceptable. This government's consistent refusal to consider culture as an important part of Canada's development is mind boggling."



Just this week, without explanation or warning, the Conservatives cancelled five programs aimed at supporting our artists and creators in the fields of cinema, video, new media and music. These new cancellations bring the total cuts to Canada's culture to $23 million in the last two weeks.

Old Mill Ancaster

Canada is beautiful!

Harper Threatens Election

Parliament is working -- if the government is defeated on a vote of confidence then we need an election, otherwise not. Isn't that the whole point of saying we'll have fixed election dates? My sense is the "in-and-out" business is causing considerable grief in the Conservative Party and they are looking to an election to bury it.

DANIEL LEBLANC AND CAMPBELL CLARK
From Friday's Globe and Mail

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday he will not govern over a “dysfunctional” Parliament and warned for the first time he could take matters into his own hands and force the country into a fall election.

Mr. Harper's made his threat as he and other government officials grew increasingly testy over four days of rare summer hearings into the Conservative Party's “in-and-out” advertising scheme in the 2006 election campaign.

He warned the opposition two weeks ago that he would not tolerate parliamentary committees acting as “kangaroo courts,” but a senior Conservative official said Thursday it doesn't look as though the opposition was listening.

Full story here:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080814.wharper15/BNStory/National/home

Get ready for a fall vote

I don't agree with the language (the refusal to bring down the Government took courage) but the analysis is cogent.

Get ready for a fall vote
National Post
Fri 15 Aug 2008
Page: A5
Section: Canada
Byline: Don Martin
Column: In Ottawa
Dateline: OTTAWA
Source: National Post

Canadians will go to the polls just before the U. S. election this fall. Go ahead, roll your eyes. Election predictions have been kicking around since early 2007, only to be proven premature with yet another whimpering surrender by Liberal MPs in the House of Commons.

But there's a hefty difference now.

After a year of enduring false starts and bogus threats, the Prime Minister has moved beyond baiting the Liberals, signalling yesterday that he is willing to ignore his own fixed voting date and force an election himself, probably for Oct. 27.

"I think, quite frankly, I'm going to have to make a judgment in the next little while as to whether or not this Parliament can function productively," Stephen Harper said during a visit to Newfoundland.

James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

Flocke -- A Mud Bear?

Flocke is up to 50 kilos!

National organ donation system

I was surprised at the passion from an earlier post on organ donation. Although I have an instinctive dislike of the concept I know that organ donation saves lives and is a "good thing". So, leaving aside childish fears, I support organ donation and encourage others to consider it and to sign their donor cards etc unless they have good reason not to.


While critics blast the new national organ donation proposal as inadequate, a prominent organ donor activist says it may be far from perfect, but it's an important first step towards building a vital national agency.

Canadian Blood Services has been given $35 million over five years by federal, provincial and territorial governments to create a national system. Only Quebec is not participating.
Emile Therien, an organ donation advocate and former president of the Canada Safety Council, told CTV's Canada AM that at the very least it should expand the pool of donors.

Full story here:

http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/abc/home/contentposting.aspx?isfa=1&feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V3&showbyline=True&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20080814%2forgan_donation_080814

John Foster: An Essay on the Evils of Popular Ignorance (1820)

How readily will the proudest descend to the plea of impotence when the exhortation is to something which they care not for or dislike, but to which, at the same time, it would be disreputable to avow any other than the most favorable sentiments, to be duly expressed in the form of great regret that the thing is impracticable.

Laurier Club Toronto

The Laurier Club held a meeting in Toronto Thursday. The Leader attended and spirits were lifted by poll news out of Ontario and Quebec suggesting the Liberals were well ahead in both provinces. With by-elections coming up the Liberal Party looks well placed for a successful future.

Stéphane Dion PC MP, Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and former MP Elinor Caplan, PC at the Laurier Club event

U.S., Poland reach missile-defence deal

The Georgian crisis is certainly relevant here.



GABRIELA BACZYNSKI

Reuters



WARSAW — Poland finally agreed on Thursday to host elements of U.S. global anti-missile system on its territory after Washington improved the terms of the deal amid the Georgia crisis.



The preliminary deal was signed by deputy Polish Foreign Minister Andrzej Kremer and U.S. chief negotiator John Rood. It still needs to be endorsed by the Polish parliament.



Full story here:



http://m.avantgo.com/ui?ag_url=52616e646f6d49566da8b97756b1f411e2417395c5576e80d78bde5932f3425b41bc0d5bede7f60440ef21f3e065daf37b09de540a713cf80052a13de52720ddbd17976ca1a48ce847ee216d78302e16&ag_channel=4179&showNav=0&ms=globeandmail

How many lost or stolen firearms are recovered every year and how many are returned to their rightful owners?

Some facts may clear the debate on missing firearms in Canada:

Source: http://www.garrybreitkreuz.com/publications/Article160.htm

RCMP RESPONSE:

1998

Lost/Missing = 2,219

Stolen = 3,613

Recovered = 1,350

1999

Lost/Missing = 2,166

Stolen = 3,378

Recovered = 1,622

2000

Lost/Missing = 1,122

Stolen = 2,733

Recovered = 1,889

2001

Lost/Missing = 932

Stolen = 2,706

Recovered = 1,379

2002

Lost/Missing = 858

Stolen = 4,090

Recovered = 1,879

Propane Explosion and Class Actions

The recent propane explosion in Toronto and the widespread damage the explosion caused has made people wonder what the best way is for the people injured to sue.

Because so many people have been harmed the best route, procedurally, may be a class proceeding or class action.

A class proceeding allows one person to start a lawsuit on behalf of themselves as well as all others who have suffered similar harm arising from a situation common to the class members.

This means that a single person can commence a class proceeding on behalf of hundreds or thousands of people.

What triggers a class action? Usually it is something you hear as breaking news such as:

􀀞 Major fire that has sent a smoke plume over a wide area.

􀀞 Environmental spill.

􀀞 "Insider trading" by senior officers of a company.

􀀞 Multi-vehicle crash on a highway.

􀀞 Blood contamination issues.

􀀞 Train derailment.

􀀞 Food poisoning.

􀀞 Or, as now, a propane explosion.

Class actions are fairly new in Canada – Ontario brought class action legislation into force in 1992, following Quebec's 1978 legislation. The United States has had class actions since the 1930's.

Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec and Saskatchewan are the only eight provinces in Canada with class proceedings legislation in effect. Of course, the recent propane explosion is not likely to have injured anyone outside of Toronto so only Ontario's legislation is relevant.

A critical question is whether there is sufficient similarity among the potential members of the class – the people harmed – that a single person can represent the entire class. There must be enough common issues among all the members of the class to make a class action or proceeding the preferable way of going ahead.

All that said, before any class action goes ahead the claim itself has to be worthwhile.

In news reports about the potential propane class action all sorts of defendants have been mentioned. Certainly the propane company makes sense as a defendant but suing the City of Toronto or Ontario is far more problematic. While it may be that some government body or regulator bears responsibility winning that sort of claim will be difficult at best. While the class action lawyers will have to decide it may be the best approach is to go after the propane company and related parties.

Propane Class Action Suit

Law firms launch $300-million propane blast suit

Two Toronto law firms say they'll file papers to start a $300 million class-action lawsuit on behalf of business owners and residents affected by this weekend's propane blasts.

The City of Toronto and Sunrise Propane Energy Group Inc., the site of Sunday's massive explosions, will be named on a notice of action, according to the website classproceedings.ca
The website states that the Toronto firms of Stevensons LLP and Bogoroch & Associates also "intend to commence an action against the Province of Ontario."

The Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA), which carries out inspections on behalf of governments, is also expected to be named in the suit after it and the province receive a required 60-day notice, according to the site. The suit will be filed "in respect of the devastating propane gas explosions which occurred on August 10, 2008," said the website.

The suit is being launched "to hold the authorities accountable so it doesn't happen again," Harvin Pitch, counsel to Stevenson LLP, told CTV.ca on Wednesday.

"This shouldn't happen. When hazardous products explode someone is usually held accountable."
The class-action website states that one of the bases for the claim against the city of Toronto is that it "permitted Sunrise to locate and operate on the premises and to carry on its dangerous operation in the vicinity of residential homes and businesses."

"The plaintiffs claim damages in the amount of $300,000,000.00 for negligence, nuisance, trespass, strict liability," the website said.

Pitch said the suit could entail thousands of plaintiffs, but he noted that the $300 million compensation claim is "just a rough estimate."

"We won't know the accurate number until we get into the case," he said.

Full story:

http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/Law+firms+launch+300million+propane+blast+suit/Home/ContentPosting?isfa=1&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20080813%2fpropane_folo_080813&feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V3&show=False&number=0&showbyline=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=True

New Poll Shows Liberals Strong In Ontario and Quebec

Trouble ahead for Harper's Tories, poll suggests

The Canadian Press

OTTAWA -- With a possible fall election around the corner, a new poll suggests there could be trouble ahead for Stephen Harper's Conservatives.

The Canadian Press, Harris-Decima survey suggests the Liberals and Tories are in a virtual dead heat for overall national support.

But the Liberals have pulled ahead in support in Ontario and Quebec, crucial battlegrounds that will determine the outcome of a countrywide vote.

Harris-Decima vice-president Jeff Walker says the Liberals have a significant advantage in Ontario, especially in large, urban centres.

Nationally, Liberal support was up slightly to 33 per cent, statistically tied with the Tories at 32 per cent.

The New Democrats followed at 15 per cent, followed by the Greens at six per cent.

In Quebec, the Liberals were virtually tied with the Bloc Quebecois, at 30 per cent and 29 per cent respectively, followed by the Tories at 24 per cent, the Greens at eight per cent and the N-D-P at six per cent.

Walker says it appears no one has gained ground based on the unveiling of the Liberal Green Shift environmental plan.

The telephone poll of just over one-thousand Canadians was conducted August 7th thru 10th, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Full story here:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080814/decima_poll_080814/20080814?hub=TopStories&s_name=

Flying piece of art causes museum chaos in Switzerland - Yahoo! News

You know it's a good day to be a reporter when you can use the phrase "giant inflatable dog turd" in the same sentence as "Swiss museum".

"A giant inflatable dog turd by American artist Paul McCarthy blew away from an exhibition in the garden of a Swiss museum, bringing down a power line and breaking a greenhouse window before it landed again, the museum said Monday"



http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080811/od_afp/switzerlandoffbeatart

Wrongly accused Stagg wins £700,000 compensation

Wrongly accused -- not just a Canadian problem!

The man who was wrongly accused of murdering Rachel Nickell in London in 1992 has won £706,000 in compensation.

Ms Nickell, 23, was stabbed 49 times in a frenzied attack on Wimbledon Common in front of her two-year-old son. Colin Stagg, 44, who was cleared of the killing in 1994, said: "What pleases me even more than the money is that this is effectively a public apology." Robert Napper, 41, was charged with the former model's murder in November last year and is awaiting trial.

Full story here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7559026.stm
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

Canadian Beauty

Always remember how lucky we are to be part of Canada.

This picture shows boats docked in Advocate Harbor, 32 miles west of Parrsboro along the Bay of Fundy. The boats will make a "ground fishing" expedition in which fishermen will go after haddock, halibut, sole, and turbot.

Welcome to Wonderland

The cell doors at Old City Hall

Prior consistent statements

As a general rule, prior statements of a witness, including a complainant, are not admissible to bolster that witness's credibility. 



There are, however, established exceptions to the rule excluding evidence of prior consistent statements. 



One of those exceptions is the use of prior consistent statements to rebut a suggestion that a witness should be disbelieved because they recently made up the story told at trial.



An important limitation to the admission of prior consistent statements to rebut the suggestion of recent fabrication is that the statements, if admitted, do not make the facts asserted more likely. The statements merely speak to the assertion of recent fabrication.



Accordingly, as the recent Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal decision in R. v. Ward, 2008 NLCA 38 makes clear, using prior consistent statements to support the truth of testimony at trial, even where the statements are admissible to rebut recent fabrication, is an error.



The Court writes:



[7]  However, a prior consistent statement that is admitted to rebut the suggestion of recent fabrication continues to lack any probative value beyond showing that the witness's story did not change as a result of a new motive to fabricate.  Importantly, it is impermissible to assume that because a witness has made the same statement in the past, he or she is more likely to be telling the truth, and any admitted prior consistent statements should not be assessed for the truth of their contents.  As was noted in R. v. Divitaris 2004 CanLII 9212 (ON C.A.), (2004), 188 C.C.C. (3d) 390 (Ont. C.A.), at para. 28, "a concocted statement, repeated on more than one occasion, remains concocted"; see also J. Sopinka, S.N. Lederman and A. W. Bryant, The Law of Evidence in Canada (2nd ed. 1999), at p. 313). …

Canadian faces possible beheading for homicide

In fairness, the punishment of beheading is only a possibility; and Canada had the death penalty for murder until fairly recently (just ask Mr. Truscott). Still, this case sounds like manslaughter at worst and since Canada fought for Brenda Martin Canada should try to help here.

A picture of the brothers is to the right

A Canadian convicted in a Saudi Arabia youth court in connection with a schoolyard fatality has been told he will now be tried in adult court. Sultan Kohail, 17, faces a possible beheading if convicted.

In April, Kohail was sentenced to a year in prison and 200 lashes for his role in a schoolyard rumble that resulted in the death of a man.

His 23-year-old brother, Mohamed Kohail, was convicted in March in the same death and sentenced to a public beheading. Both brothers appealed the decisions.

Liberal MP Dan McTeague has been following the plight of the Montreal brothers and is calling on the Canadian government to make sure they receive due process.

Full story here:

http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/abc/home/contentposting.aspx?isfa=1&feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V3&showbyline=True&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20080813%2fsaudi_arabia_canada_080813

Care in service important

There is a tendency on urgent matters to be causal about service, especially if counsel attends on a motion served improperly. Such an attitude is dangerous as the recent Superior Court decision in Ariza Technology Inc. v. Jonsa Technologies Inc., 2008 CanLII 39606 shows:



[4] This motion was brought by Ariza, on notice to the parties. It had not applied for ex parte relief. There is no evidence as to why ex parte relief would be required. It sent the motion materials to Jonsa by email. Jonsa although not prepared to fully argue the point, did make submissions with respect to the issue of service for the purpose of arguing that no Mareva injunction should be imposed, pending the hearing of this Motion. Ariza sent the Application materials to Jonsa using the email address that had been used by the parties in their normal business dealings. Jonsa submits that such is contrary to the Rules of Civil Procedures ("Rules") and that there are no valid grounds to order that service be dispensed with or that the service by email be validated. There was no evidence produced by Ariza with respect to why it had not been possible to serve Jonsa in accordance with the Rules. There was no evidence with respect to any other efforts that had been made by Ariza to serve Jonsa and no evidence to support the requests with respect to service. Ariza relies on the fact that Jonsa counsel attended at the hearing and was therefore aware of the proceedings. Ariza argues that as a practical matter the service should be validated. Ariza did not provide any legal authority for its argument. Jonsa argued that the supporting material that is required for a court to consider exercising its jurisdiction to validate service or to dispense with service, have not been met. I accept that proposition and find that Jonsa has not properly been served and deny the request for dispensing with or validating service.

MPs reach compromise on vetting of Supreme Court nominees

The Supreme Court of Canada judges are just as important -- maybe more important -- than Cabinet Ministers. From my standpoint it makes sense for there to be a process where their appointment is made transparent.

Cornwall Standard-Freeholder (ON)
Wed 13 Aug 2008
Page: 19
Section: News
Byline: BY JIM BROWN, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Dateline: OTTAWA

An all-party committee of MPs has decided to press ahead with its job of vetting potential nominees for the Supreme Court -- despite opposition worries about the presence on the panel of two Conservative cabinet ministers.

"In the end, we decided unanimously to accept the present composition," Bloc Quebecois MP Real Menard said after the issue was hashed out at a closed-door session of the panel Tuesday.

He said the question of whether cabinet members should sit on similar advisory groups in future will be referred to the Commons justice committee for further study.

"So we're working with the people who were named but we think we made our point," he told RDI, the CBC's French news network.

The comments mark a sharp turnaround from a day earlier when Menard had vowed to work for the removal from the advisory panel of Public Works Minister Christian Paradis and Diane Ablonczy, the secretary of state for small business.

The Bloc and NDP had complained that cabinet members aren't free to offer independent advice on who should fill the seat on the high court.

New Democrat MP Joe Comartin confirmed the committee had decided to press ahead with the task of delivering a short list of candidates to Prime Minister Stephen Harper to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created when Justice Michel Bastarache stepped down in June because of health problems.

Comartin said the panel has set a timetable of mid-to late September for making its recommendations to Harper.

He declined to go into further detail, saying members had concluded a new confidentiality agreement that will make Ablonczy, as committee chair, the sole spokesperson from now on.

Ablonczy could not be reached for comment, and a spokeswoman said only that the minister considered the outcome of the meeting "very positive."

Dominic LeBlanc, the Liberal member of the panel, has had nothing to say on the subject since the dispute first surfaced. Justice Minister Rob Nicholson

made it clear this week that he had no intention of backing down on the point.

"Ultimately, the appointment of a Supreme Court justice is a function of the executive," said Nicholson.

"We've put this process in place and we have the right to name some individuals . . . We're not providing a veto to the Bloc or the NDP on these things."

Under the Constitution, appointments to the Supreme Court are the sole responsibility of the prime minister. But Nicholson announced last spring the government would set up the special committee of MPs to play an advisory role in the process.

On Tuesday, the government handed over a preliminary list of candidates it had compiled on its own. The job of the parliamentary penal will be to shorten the list to three names, from which Harper will make the ultimate choice.

Nicholson is hoping to have the new judge in place by the time the court begins its fall term in early October, but has made no promises on that score.

3 female aid workers, including British-Canadian, killed in Afghan attack

By The Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan - A militant ambush of a U.S. aid organization's vehicle Wednesday killed an American aid worker along with a British-Canadian and a Trinidadian colleague, officials said.

The three women who worked for the New York-based International Rescue Committee were attacked in Logar province, south of Kabul, said Abdullah Khan, the deputy counterterrorism director in Logar. The women's Afghan driver was also killed, said Khan.

Full story here:

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080813/world/afghan_cda_worker_killed

Video shows Burger King employee bathing in sink

If true it's pretty silly (and gross)

Video shows Burger King employee bathing in sink

It happened at the Burger King on Orange Street in Xenia.

A four-minute video posted on MySpace captured the employee, self-described as Mr. Unstable, bathing nude in a large stainless steel sink as several other employees and a store manager looked on.

The video began making its rounds on the Internet Monday morning. One of the recipients was Greene County Health Commissioner, Mark McDonnell.

"My first thought was oh my god," said McDonnell.

McDonnell immediately sent staff to restaurant to investigate the numerous health code violations.

He said the restaurant was aware of the incident and had already taken steps to clean up, including disposing of all the utensils and sanitizing the sink twice.

All of the employees involved were fired.

"You can't account for everyone's stupid actions but when things do happen if you respond to it and take the appropriate action that's reassuring," McDonnell said.

Some Burger King patrons don't agree.

"That's just, it's wrong it's a place where families come to eat and them taking a bath in the sink that's just not work ethic," said Crystal Dodge, who said she used to eat at Burger King all the time.

2News reporter Megan O'Rourke went to the Xenia Burger King Monday afternoon looking for comment, but was met at the door by an employee who asked her to leave and referred comment to Burger King's corporate office.

Burger King spokesperson Denise Wilson emailed the following statement to 2News Monday afternoon:

"Burger King Corp. was just notified of this incident and is cooperating fully with the health department. We have sanitized the sink and have disposed of all other kitchen tools and utensils that were used during the incident.

We have also taken appropriate corrective action on the employees that were involved in this video. Additionally, the remaining staff at this restaurant is being retrained in health and sanitation procedures."

But for diners like Crystal, it may be too little, too late.

"That's just disgusting. I wouldn't want to eat here after I heard something like that, that's just not appropriate for employment," Dodge said.

"This kind of stunt really is a black eye for the restaurant itself."

Health Department officials plan to talk with prosecutors to see if any criminal charges will be filed, but they don't have any plans to issue fines at this time.

Report by Megan O'Rourke, WDTN. Web produced by Tony Heitmeyer.

Swimming bear

Flocke gives Michael Phelps a run for his money

What do you think? Spousal abuse -- is it a justification for homicide?

We have some bright people who comment on this blog.

Today's Post has a story about claims of spousal abuse being used to reduce murder to manslaughter. What do you think?

I am not going to give my thoughts but I will tell a story.

I know a woman, bright, attractive, professional, who has been a friend for many years (but just a friend, we never had a "relationship"). When she was in her 30's she was divorced and living alone. She called me late one evening but the call was cut off. I was a little surprised but hardly thought of the matter -- the next day she said let's have lunch.

We met and she had a black eye. Her boyfriend was (and had been) beating her up for months. Now this was a woman who was not living with the guy, had money and was well educated. And despite my urgings she stayed with him another 4 or 5 months. (This is years ago and her life turned out pretty well -- at least from the outside -- since then).

So, partner abuse is not limited to people without options. Does that mean my friend had cause to kill her boyfriend? That's a rather different question.

Karen Selick, National Post Published: Wednesday, August 13, 2008

During 21 years of practising matrimonial law, I've learned that no matter how convincing the story my client tells while sitting across the desk from me, the picture will change when I hear the other spouse's version of the same events. Sometimes the change will be slight, sometimes enormous. Occasionally I can hardly believe that both people are describing the same incidents.

That's why the legal maxim audi alteram partem, meaning "hear the other side," evolved centuries ago -- to caution judges and juries about the danger of reaching conclusions without having heard both sides of the story.

But when one spouse has murdered the other, as Teresa Pohchoo Craig of Kemptville, Ont., did to her husband Jack, the court gets to hear only one side of the story -- the murderer's. And when the murderer says she was an abused wife and therefore deserves leniency, what should we believe?

Ms. Craig's recent trial in Ottawa heard evidence that one night, while Jack slept under the influence of alcohol and marijuana, she put a pillow over his face and stabbed him repeatedly with a butcher knife. In a videotaped statement made to police later, she admitted they had not even been arguing that night. Rather, she said: "I hate him, that's why I kill him. Enough is enough. Get rid of him."

Full story here:

http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/story.html?id=719006

Loans without terms not necessarily demand loans

Is a loan made without specified terms a demand loan as a matter of law?



The recent Superior Court decision in Animal House Investments Inc. v. Lisgar Development Ltd., 2008 CanLII 39607 suggests not.



The Court writes:



[15] The applicant argues that numerous decisions compel the Court to conclude that the phrase "no specified terms of repayment", and similar iterations, mean, as a matter of law, that the shareholder loan is payable on demand or within a reasonable period of time. I do not agree.



[16] This analysis skips a step. The issue of contractual interpretation always involves a determination of the intention of the parties. In the cases upon which the applicant relies, the courts did not impose an arbitrary rule in the manner he suggests. Instead, they concluded that the intention of the parties was that the loans would be repayable on demand or within a reasonable time, given the particular circumstances of each case.



[17] Accordingly, the fact that the loan agreements are described in the financial statements and elsewhere as having "no specified terms of repayment" does not necessarily mean that the loans are payable on demand.

Uplands -- A Stanley Thompson Golf Course

Right -- First Green

Uplands first opened in 1922 as an eighteen hole private course.

In 1989, urban sprawl engulfed half of the course and it became a nine hole course in the middle of the city.

Of the nine holes eight reflect Thompson's design and the course is still a treasure (the sixth hole is modern). As Canada's greatest golf course designer -- a world leader in the first half of the last century -- Stanley Thompson created golf courses enjoyed for nearly 100 years.

Another stun gun death

Interesting story from The Christian Science Monitor about stun guns and tasers. The bottom line is that tasers are not toys. While they do not always kill (and would anyone be surprised if someone shot 9 times died?) they are dangerous and can kill.



Are stun guns too deadly? Louisiana case adds to debate.



A grand jury will decide whether to bring murder charges against a police officer.



By Patrik Jonsson Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor



ATLANTA - A grand jury in rural Louisiana considers Tuesday whether to bring murder charges against a Taser-wielding police officer in what may become a seminal case in the hotly debated history of stun guns.



No US jury has ever convicted a police officer in connection with a death related to use of an electroshock weapon. But the number of deaths in which the guns have played a role has been growing, along with their use in law enforcement agencies.



Now, the coroner in Winnfield, La., has found the death of one Baron "Scooter" Pikes to be homicide by Taser, intensifying a simmering controversy over the devices and exposing the tense tug of war between police and young black men in rural Louisiana.



After Winnfield Parish police took Mr. Pikes, who is black, into custody one January morning, a white police officer fired a Taser, jolting Pikes nine times in the span of 14 minutes. Pikes never woke up.



Police said the 21-year-old Pikes was on drugs and uncooperative, but coroner Randolph Williams took a different view. In a report last month, he said he found no signs of a physical struggle, of drugs, or of any medical condition that could have exacerbated the jolts' effect.



Full story here:

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0812/p01s09-usju.html

Market Shows Green Shift Works

It appears that price incentives impact carbon usage.

Hmmn, does that mean the Green Shift might work?

Oil continues downward march
MADLEN READ The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Oil prices fell again Tuesday, dampened by a stronger U.S. dollar and more evidence that developed countries such as the United States are cutting back on their energy use. Light, sweet crude dipped by $1.44 (U.S.) to settle at $113.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after falling as low as $112.31, a new three-month low. Oil is now nearly $35 below its July 11 record high of $147.27.

Full story:

http://m.avantgo.com/ui?ag_url=52616e646f6d49564ab2f608ba26804be079db870e0ddb8e1b4faa521ebfb056a3332ddbbd42370ac68582307bfde267b08d6cc44ac65647222848de273ba9f0fabc5efa428404144b0db18d64b49191&ag_channel=4179&showNav=0&ms=globeandmail
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

Electronic Monitoring

The issue here is technological. If the ankle bracelets work and are cost effective they are a good idea. Anyone in the courts knows breaches of release conditions are very common and the police cannot be everywhere checking up on releasees.

That said, the bracelets may not be the way to go if they are too costly or don't really work. Sometimes technology will give a false sense of security.

But the response is to see if they work -- just making fun of the idea isn't productive.

Ottawa's ankle bracelet initiative called 'correctional quackery'
The Globe and Mail
Tue 12 Aug 2008
Page: A4
Section: National News
Byline: Josh Wingrove

It was good enough for Lindsay Lohan, but a Canadian trial program that will fit 30 federal parolees with ankle bracelet tracking devices is just "correctional quackery," one critic says.

The comments were made after Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day announced yesterday the trial "electronic monitoring" program. Beginning next month, 30 federal prisoners in Ontario will be "strongly encouraged" when paroled to participate in the ankle bracelet trial period. If they do not agree, the parole board could view it as a sign of the prisoner being unco-operative, Mr. Day added.

But the irremovable gizmos aren't proven; their signals fade, and their Global Positioning Satellite tracking isn't always real-time, said Craig Jones, executive director of the John Howard Society, a prisoners' advocacy group. He cited a 2007 study that called the ankle bracelets "correctional quackery."

"There's a tendency to go for the technological fix, the technological fetishism. But the technology is really untested, untried," said Mr. Jones, an advocate of "evidence-backed" parole programs such as counselling and training. "There isn't a kind of quick fix available here."

The trial program will run for one year at a cost of $600,000, and is based on a similar model in Nova Scotia. Police are alerted when an offender breaks curfew or location restrictions, such as visiting a children's playground when prohibited from doing so. The cost includes staffing and the one-year rental of the 30 devices from the Nova Scotia government.

Country Road

Tory witnesses spurn ethics committee

TIM NAUMETZ The Canadian Press

12 Aug 2008 OTTAWA — A parliamentary inquiry into the Conservative "in and out" election scheme descended into chaos Tuesday when four Tory witnesses failed to appear and the inquiry chair accused the governing party of ordering their absence.

NDP MP Pat Martin said he suspected a Tory "conspiracy" aimed at thwarting the inquiry into questionable campaign expenses. However, Conservatives said the inquiry is partisan and "illegal."

Committee chairman Paul Szabo surprised MPs and observers when he abruptly banged his gavel and adjourned the morning hearing moments after its start. The four chairs for the Conservative party election agents who were supposed to testify sat empty.

Outside the committee room, Mr. Szabo said all four had been issued summonses. Their failure to show suggested that other witnesses were accurate when they said the Conservative party instructed them not to come, the chairman added.

The inquiry is looking into allegations the Conservative party illegally skirted its spending limit for the 2006 election by transferring $1.3-million to 67 local candidates, then quickly taking the money back to pay for radio and television ads produced for the national campaign.

http://m.avantgo.com/ui?ag_url=52616e646f6d4956453fbcdcb409557a2d3f6ed8666898cebfbe16d77ba6de65fd177d07a9690af1c496969309d827d6a4091519d711c4e597a76c0b6a31b56a522add1de2261e08ff7f7bc743f4a774&ag_channel=4179&showNav=0&ms=globeandmail
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

A Puppy

Woof!

Taliban attack outpost in Panjwaii killing 90th Canadian soldier

Module body

Note the form of attack is far more like a conventional war than the roadside bomb attacks. It may be that this is illustrative of a change in tactics reflecting a new confidence by the Taliban. Or it may be that Canadian forces are in new, more dangerous, and exposed locations. Either way, the loss is one all Canadians ought to mourn and it is a loss suffered for a democratic ideal; even if you think this war is foolish (which I do not) you cannot deny the Taliban is brutal and repressive.

By Tobi Cohen, The Canadian Press

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A burly "mountain of a man" nicknamed the Friendly Giant became the second Canadian combat death in three days when insurgents attacked a remote outpost in the Panjwaii district of Kandahar province Monday.

Master Cpl. Erin Doyle was the 90th Canadian soldier to die since the Afghan mission began in 2002.

Chief Warrant Officer Chris White, who knew Doyle for five years, described the 200-pound man as a "barrel-chested kind of guy, the kind you'd "like to sit down and have a beer with."

Full story here:

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080811/national/afghan_cda_death

Canada's housing market cools in face of sharply slower economic growth

"One should not read too much into an oversized drop in multiple starts in a single month. The month-to-month volatility in this market segment is remarkably high on both the upside and downside."

By Eric Shackleton, The Canadian Press

TORONTO - Canada's housing market lost some steam in July as the fevered pace of new home and condo construction cooled, especially in Ontario, after prices rose at their slowest pace in over six years in June in the face of sharply slower economic growth.

Canada's national economy "is flat on its back" after two straight monthly declines in employment, Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, said Monday.

As a result, he said, people are "anxious and worried about the economic outlook," (and) "are not inclined to make big-ticket purchases like homes."

He also said the housing slowdown comes as a kind of payback after "unsustainably strong" building activity in past years and prices being "overly high for too long."

Helene Begin, senior economist with Desjardins Securities, said "it is possible that poor weather conditions, particularly in central and eastern Canada, magnified the decline in construction."

Both regions have experienced record amounts of rain and severe storms over the past couple of months.

The Canadian economy has been hurt by the slowdown in the United States, brought on by the worldwide credit crunch, which has savaged Canada's export-sensitive forestry and automotive industries, leading to thousands of layoff announcements.

Full story here:

http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/print%2Fs%2F11082008%2F2%2Fbiz-finance-canada-s-housing-market-cools-face-sharply-slower.html

banlieues rouges?

This is Montreal!

Conservative conservation

I listen to radio preachers.



They tend to be right wing (often very right wing) but they often have some interesting points and they always have a perspective that makes me think.



Tonight I heard a message that was interesting in a couple of ways.



It had, in truth, very little to do with religion.



The preacher was asking why is North America (Canada and America) so addicted to oil? He said 64% of our oil needs are supplied by nations hostile to Western values (not sure what exactly is meant by that) and in any event gasoline may triple in cost (yes triple) within a year.



His solution was a bit vague -- he mentioned using horses but I suspect that was a joke -- he did call for more trains and nuclear power (both sensible ideas).



Now this is interesting because it is very true that our carbon use does prop up some very unsavory governments. But what's more, a profoundly conservative view is quite consistent with the Liberal Green Shift.



Maybe the politics differ on other things but both the preacher and the Liberals agree -- we have to move on from carbon.

Jazz fans misfits??? (Who knows, they might even wear bow ties)

Metal fans more prone to mental illness

by Elizabeth Bromstein
What your musical preferences say about you

We are shocked, shocked I tell you, at the Gigwise report that metal fans are at risk for mental illness and depression. The story is that a study published in this week's Australasian Psychiatry journal claims "teenagers who listen to heavy metal are big on unprotected sex, self-harm and shoplifting."

The brief note does not differentiate between nu metal, old school, thrash metal, death metal, black metal and glam metal and we are left to wonder whether Judas Priest fans are equally as likely to shoplift as Megadeth fans, or if Evanescence fans are as depressed as Hatebreed fans. Questions questions. I need more information. A quest to access the actual journal article online leads to nothing but frustration.

Meanwhile fans of pop have to deal with "curiosity about their sexuality and worries about peer-acceptance," which is interesting because you'd think all teens would be curious about their sexuality but obviously metal fans are too busy being self destructive to dwell on it much while dance music fans are too busy doing drugs. Yes, "those who listen to dance indulge in more drug use, no matter what their socio-economic background is." Can you believe it!?

"Jazz fans struggle with social acceptance, usually settling down as misfits and 'loners.' Rap fans are also keen on theft, violence and anger, according to the study." I know! Me neither!

http://music.sympatico.msn.ca/newsandfeatures/contentposting_ontherecord?newsitemid=87eb6509-72ef-4b31-a5b6-896de888ab2a&feedname=musicnewsblog&show=false&number=0&showbyline=true&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=false&pagenumber=1&paginationenabled=false

Art in the City

Elephants at Commerce Court Toronto

Setting aside a guilty plea

Today's reasons in R. v. Hanemaayer, 2008 ONCA 580 makes it clear that the Court retains the power to set aside a guilty plea even years after it was accepted and even if the plea is, on its face, proper.

The Court writes:

[19]          Even though the appellant's plea appears to meet all the traditional tests for a valid guilty plea, as pointed out by Doherty J.A. in T. (R.) at p. 519, this court retains a discretion, to be exercised in the interests of justice, to receive fresh evidence to explain the circumstances that led to the plea and that demonstrate a miscarriage of justice occurred. 

[20]          As a necessary corollary of the power to receive fresh evidence in these circumstances, the court has the power to set aside the guilty plea in the interests of justice, even though many years have passed.  This is obviously one of those cases.  The fresh evidence proves beyond doubt that the appellant did not commit the offences to which he pleaded guilty.  One miscarriage of justice would be compounded by another if this court had no power to intervene.  As I have said, the Crown agrees that this is a proper case for setting aside the guilty pleas and entering acquittals.
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

Investigatory Detention

Today’s Court of Appeal decision in R. v. Nesbeth, 2008 ONCA 579 provides a good summary of when police may detain an individual for investigatory purposes.

 

[13]          In R. v. Mann (2004), 185 C.C.C. (3d) 308 at para. 16, the Supreme Court of Canada noted that “police officers must be empowered to respond quickly, effectively, and flexibly to the diversity of encounters experienced daily on the front lines of policing”.  This is a classic case of police officers faced with a rapidly evolving situation to which they attempted to respond quickly and effectively.  In Mann, the court recognized a limited power of investigative detention to assist police in carrying out their duties in circumstances such as this.  A police officer may briefly detain an individual for investigative purposes “if there are reasonable grounds to suspect in all the circumstances that the individual is connected to a particular crime and that such a detention is necessary”: at para. 45.  Such a detention will not violate s. 9.  In this case, the trial judge found that when the police initiated the chase and gave the respondent the command to stop, they did not have the requisite reasonable grounds to detain and therefore violated his rights.