Saturday July 19, 2008
ACROSS CANADA 
What would Jesus do? Conservative Christian is Omar Khadr's last line of defence in terror trial
It wasn't too long ago that Bill Kuebler was as Red State as they come: a family man, a born-again Christian, a successful business lawyer, a political conservative with an unblemished record of voting Republican.
Can the forestry industry grow again?
More than a century ago, Don Bendickson's grandfather started chopping trees on Vancouver Island, joining hundreds of others in a historic timber rush.Today, like his grandfather and father before him, Mr. Bendickson makes his living from the woods, running two companies that work on Vancouver Island and the mainland's central coast.
First, crush the 'general attitude of defeat'
It wasn't until his glaring seatmate began to talk that Dan Veniez began to worry.Mr. Veniez was on a return flight to Vancouver last December, the end of his first trip to Prince Rupert since he shut down the Skeena pulp plant in 2004, gutting the city's economy and earning him the nickname Darth Vader.
OPP chief sidestepped negotiators in Mohawk protest talks, court told
Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian Fantino was personally involved in a police operation against native protesters last summer in which a wiretap was set up without a court order and in which the Commissioner took over telephone negotiations with a native activist, at times threatening him.
Operators offer gas discounts to attract tourists
A growing number of Canada's tourism operators and services, worried about vacationers staying at home this summer because of spiking gas costs, are offering to foot the fuel bill to get families on their way to resorts and hotels.
'Baby Joey' takes his first steps to find mother
It was 30 years ago yesterday that Therese Skomar was walking through a back entrance at St. Paul's Hospital in Saskatoon and sped past a small, closed shoebox tucked inside the doorway.
Premiers seize climate-change initiative
The Harper government faced new pressure yesterday to adopt a more aggressive climate-change plan after Canada's largest province threw its considerable political weight behind a North American initiative to tackle global warming.
But is it right for you, Wasaga, dear?
Wasaga, darling, we need to talk.It's difficult to discuss this so openly, but a recent visit underscored the need to say something. It seems that you've reached that age, and seismic changes loom on your Georgian Bay horizon. It's best you prepare for the storm before the calm.
Island's future water supply made unfit by logging
The Leech River Valley on Vancouver Island holds the future water supply for the rapidly expanding communities in and around Victoria.But thanks to logging on private lands, the water is unfit for the city's taps.
PM promises fall summit to tackle native issues
Prime Minister Stephen Harper will hold a first ministers meeting this fall with the provinces and territories and has agreed to place aboriginal issues on the agenda.The news follows this week's demand from provincial and territorial premiers for a meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss the poor social conditions faced by Canada's young aboriginals, especially in education.
Opposition calls for top-level changes at ICBC
Directors of the Insurance Corp. of B.C. should be held accountable for failing to provide adequate oversight while employees participated in a controversial scheme to buy damaged vehicles fixed up at its collision-repair training facility, NDP critic Michael Farnworth says.
DNA links detached foot to missing man
Police are one step closer to solving the puzzle of the washed-up, detached feet.Forensic investigators have now linked one of the five feet found at scattered locations along the B.C. coast to a specific individual, RCMP spokesman Corporal Pierre LeMaitre confirmed yesterday.
Pay system to target worst contaminants
Vancouver-area polluters will be paying more to pick their poison if a proposed raft of bylaws passes next week.Metro Vancouver's ''polluter pay'' framework would target the pocketbooks of businesses spewing the most toxic substances while easing up on emitters of a more benign sort.
B.C. Ferries eyeing fare discounts for island residents
To counter waves of discontent from local customers, B.C. Ferries is considering introducing a reduced fare for residents who travel to and from their island homes.David Hahn, B.C. Ferries president and CEO, ''said we'll look at it,'' spokeswoman Deborah Marshall said yesterday. ''But there are no immediate plans to implement it.''
Injunction over Web libel sets precedent
A B.C. Supreme Court judge has awarded an Australian man $180,000 for suffering linked to an Internet campaign by a Nanaimo resident in a case observers have deemed notable for such twists as a sweeping injunction that prevents the B.C. resident from any further comment on the plaintiff.
Jogger's family asks for killer to confess
The parents of an Edmonton woman found slain near her home in North Carolina tearfully asked yesterday for the culprit to show ''a shred of decency'' by confessing, while the lawyer of the dead woman's husband said his client is an innocent man who wants to grieve in private.
Umbrella donation puts B.C. MP in violation of federal election rules
B.C. MP Blair Wilson has admitted to violating federal election rules by failing to disclose election spending and accepting the donation of 144 umbrellas during the last election campaign.
B.C. Premier says he voiced sympathy, not support
B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell said he was expressing compassion for RCMP officers involved in the taser death of a Polish man at Vancouver Airport, not support for their actions, when he spoke to a deputy RCMP commissioner about the incident a month later.
Court case prompts call to end age discrimination in pension plans
A seniors' advocacy group is calling on governments to ban age discrimination in pension plans after a New Brunswick man forced to retire from a mining job lost an appeal of his case to Canada's highest court.
'There is a future for the industry here'
Vancouver Island's forest industry isn't dead, Rick Jeffery insists, it's just temporarily lost in the woods.The Coast Forest Products Association CEO says the industry will bounce back, but in the meantime companies need to get creative.
Cat noises? Random gunfire? Must be Hockey Night in Canada
The Internet has spoken: The next Hockey Night in Canada theme should sound a lot like a baby riding an unco-operative sheep through an industrial grinder.After the CBC lost the rights to the monstrously popular Hockey Night theme song this summer, the national broadcaster decided to hold an open contest to select Don Cherry's next aural red carpet.
BARFLY VANCOUVER: AMARO MONTENEGRO
Six Acres203 Carrall St., Vancouver604-488-0110www.sixacres.caGastown's revival in recent years has brought chic new restaurants and trendy bars into this historic Vancouver neighbourhood.
Educated newcomers struggle to find work, study shows
Some university-educated immigrants were less likely to be employed in 2007 than their Canadian-born counterparts, a new study shows. Statistics Canada said university-educated immigrants between the ages of 25 and 45, who arrived in Canada in the past five years, had a more difficult time finding work than native-born Canadians.
B.C. woman in three-year condo limbo
A Kelowna woman's dream of living and working quietly in her condo has turned into a nightmare.Christine Croteau has endured endless hassles for three years because the building had to be evacuated for major structural renovations. Ms. Croteau said officials with Edmonton-based National Home Warranty told her two months ago that she could move back in and they were discontinuing her living-out allowance.
New trial ordered in air taxi death
The widow and children of a Calgary entrepreneur killed in a helicopter crash almost a decade ago may be entitled to a ''substantial increase'' to the more than the $3.2-million previously awarded in compensation in connection with his death, the Alberta Court of Appeal ruled yesterday.
Tree house must come down, judge rules
A B.C. court says a Vancouver family will have to take down an elaborate tree house that prompted a two-year fight with the city and a neighbour.The city says the fort in the front yard of architect Andrew Dewberry's home violates zoning and development bylaws and a B.C. Provincial Court judge agrees.
Wilting economy threatens to take down logging museum
For decades, the B.C. Forest Discovery Centre has been a reliable roadside attraction for lumber-loving tourists, the kind of place where kids can ride a steam train through the woods and peer into bunkhouses. Logger and sawmill operator Gerry Wellburn founded the centre - then the Cowichan Valley Forestry Museum - in 1965; the province took over its operations in 1974.
Surveyors say they've found Acadian settlement
It's a modern-day treasure hunt using ancient documents and, to some, the prize is much more valuable than gold or jewels.Following an 18th-century English map and the journals of British Commodore John Byron - the man who led the English conquest against the Acadians - a Quebec archeologist thinks he might have found the village of La Petite-Rochelle, the last settlement that Cmdre. Byron burned to the ground.
We can work it out
I agree wholeheartedly with The Globe's editorial (The Plains Of Paul - July 18) about some sovereigntists' negative reaction to the concert Paul McCartney will give tomorrow in Quebec City. Except for one word, ''xenophobia.'' Although I do not share the separatists' views, I know for a fact the huge majority of them are not xenophobes. Some separatists are intolerant toward strangers, some are downright racists. But that can also be said of some federalists.
Captain of sunken boat guilty of safety infractions
The captain of a fishing vessel that sank three years ago in icy waters off Newfoundland's east coast, claiming the lives of four men including the captain's brother, failed to train his crew properly, a judge ruled yesterday.
B.C. court extends life of Pope & Talbot mill
Workers at the Mackenzie pulp mill in northern B.C. gained renewed hope yesterday that a buyer will come along this summer to purchase their shut-down operation. B.C. Supreme Court extended a stay that gives potential buyers of the mill until Sept. 2 to make a bid and restart the business, formerly run by bankrupt U.S. forestry company Pope and Talbot Inc. The ruling came alongside the dismissal of an application by Canfor Corp. to have its wood chip supply agreement with the mill cancelled. The court heard the agreement is crucial to the mill's operations and was needed to find a buyer.
Two Cornwall men indicted in death of N.Y. State man
Two Cornwall, Ont., men are among a half-dozen people indicted in the death of a New York State man.U.S. authorities say the six beat and shot Daniel Simonds in his upstate New York home in May. Mr. Simonds later died in a hospital in Vermont.
We can work it out
I'm bemused by the irony of the Paul McCartney flap. I'd expected Quebeckers to get up in arms about his total nonsense of protesting the seal hunt, but not a peep.
Court ruling gives hope to pulp-mill workers
A glimmer of hope exists for the 200 Mackenzie workers hoping a buyer can be found for the Pope and Talbot pulp mill in their north-central B.C. community.
Newfoundland man wins World Poker Tour jackpot
A Newfoundland man has won a major jackpot on the World Poker Tour.Mike Watson, 24, of St. John's defeated some of the planet's best players yesterday to win the $1.7-million (U.S.) top prize.
60 inmates in lockdown after a disturbance
Sixty inmates at a maximum-security prison in northeast New Brunswick were in lockdown yesterday, after a disturbance that began Thursday night.Natalie Arsenault, a spokeswoman with the Correctional Service of Canada, said no one was injured during the seven-hour disturbance at the Atlantic Institution in Renous.
Two teenagers charged in man's stabbing death
Police say a man whose body was found near Leduc, south of Edmonton, died of multiple stab wounds.Two teens are charged with first-degree murder in the death of 30-year-old Kristopher Ryan Kratchmer. RCMP say Robbie Allen Harrish, 19, and a 16-year-old who can't be named are both from Leduc.
Agriculture Canada unveils a new potato
A new type of potato - named after Newfoundland's longest river - will soon be filling pots and stomachs across the province.Agriculture Canada has released the new variety called Exploits, which shares its name with the river that flows through central Newfoundland and past Grand Falls-Windsor. The potato is resistant to wart, golden nematode and potato virus Y, which are challenges to potato crops in the province.
We can work it out
Regarding the controversy sparked over the visit of Paul McCartney to Quebec City, does it help if I point out that Abraham Martin (1589-1664) was an early inhabitant of Quebec City, and the Plains of Abraham were his originally?
We can work it out
My goodness but our country can be embarrassing at times, what with a timid Prime Minister unwilling to challenge Omar Khadr's questionable imprisonment and now a Parti Quebecois culture critic pooh-poohing a visit by the remarkable Paul McCartney.
We can work it out
After reading Sir Paul To ''Quebeckians': Smoke ''The Pipes Of Peace' (July 18), I'm proposing a deal that might be offered to Quebec nationalists who are objecting to Paul McCartney's visit: We in the rest of Canada will do our best to keep Sir Paul out of Quebec, if you will do your best to keep Celine Dion in it.
CLARIFICATION
A business known as the Bicycle Clinic or Bike Clinic, on Queen Street West, Toronto, operated by Igor Kenk, who has been charged with theft, has no connection with the Bike Clinic on Harbord Street, Toronto.
We can work it out
Only music can solve Sir Paul McCartney's controversy. How about a love declaration like: Quebec, ma belle, sont les mots qui vont tres bien ensemble, tres bien ensemble?
CORRECTION
The application fee for a Nexus card in Canada is $50, not $80 as stated yesterday.
TORONTO
THE DOWNSIDE OF UP
The garlands were up, the Christmas songs were playing, but inside the Danforth Avenue store Paper and Presents, the mood was anything but merry.It was December, 2007, and instead of spreading good cheer, customers were hurling abuse about cross-border price discrepancies. Store owner Grace Wong was facing her second year without drawing a paycheque, and she was fed up with skyrocketing business costs.
Bylaw scofflaws beware: There's a new licensing chief in town
On a Scarborough street notorious for illegal business activities, it was the flashy new BMW that stood out among the beat-up cars at an auto repair shop.That sighting by a sharp-eyed bylaw official was one of many reasons the city's municipal licensing and standards (MLS) department spearheaded a high-profile crackdown on Crockford Boulevard last week.
That's not a weed, that's a $10 salad
I've been eating a lot of weeds lately. Not out of my own garden, mind you, but out of everyone else's. Last week, I encountered a salad of lamb's quarters at the Inn at Manitou's serene dining room on Manitouwabing Lake, north of Toronto. The salad came as a surprise: The succulent leaves had a fleshy, almost creamy texture - a nice change from the ubiquitous frisee and baby lettuces. Though the lamb's quarters leaves are familiar to gardeners, it's rare to encounter them on a salad plate outside Iceland.
Ambitious teen remembered as family, friends grieve
Shazad Khawaja was supposed to be gone for half an hour.It was Thursday evening. The 17-year-old student spent the day at home and had just run out to buy a carton of milk for his mother, Naila. She was about to prepare dinner in the family's apartment, on the top floor of 90 Mornelle Ct., when her son asked her to wait.
TTC chair backs away from Bombardier comments
After a rebuke from Bombardier - the only major firm that bid on the TTC's massive streetcar contract - the transit agency's chairman yesterday backed away from his accusations that the Montreal-based giant knowingly submitted a vehicle it knew would derail on Toronto's tracks.
Man facing tire-slashing charges goes missing
With a home in Wychwood Park and another on the Toronto Islands, Albert Fulton has long sought quiet refuge in two of the city's most exclusive enclaves.Yesterday, it was the Toronto police who set out in search of Mr. Fulton, a 70-year-old retired teacher, Neighbourhood Watch member and volunteer archivist for both communities. On Thursday, Mr. Fulton went missing, just days after news surfaced that he faces a raft of charges involving a rash of tire-slashing in Wychwood Park, apparently stemming from a long-standing dispute over street parking.
My mom can get more votes than your mom
There are nine finalists left on Canadian Idol, but only one's mother is driving around Toronto in the ''Mookie Mobile.'' That's Julie Wang Morris, ex-publisher of the Town Crier, who has been doing her utmost to raise support for her son, Peter (Mookie) Morris, 18, named after former Blue Jay Mookie Wilson.
Wonder what the condo fees are like
The Toronto Islands are far from a gentrification hot spot, but islanders are buzzing about the rise of the islands' first condo.For bees and wasps, that is.Peek behind the Franklin Children's Garden, an educational centre, and you'll find the Pink Bee-Wasp Condo, a wooden box perched atop a three-metre-tall pole.
Guys and a doll, or two
''You can never have too many reasons to hang out with the guys,'' said Don Mason, one of about 700 men who attended the second annual Boys' Night Out fundraiser benefiting prostate-cancer research at Princess Margaret Hospital.
First: No lemon cake for kids
In the competitive sport of children's birthday parties, balloons and streamers are no longer enough. Kids will pan a magician (cheesy) or birthday clown (creepy). But whether you've got a bouncy castle or a Miley Cyrus impersonator, when it comes to the piece de resistance - the cake - you can't afford to go wrong.
FIVE THINGS: YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TORONTO THIS WEEK
1Slashing prices like ...Ed Mirvish. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of Honest Ed's tomorrow on Markham Street, the iconic discount store is selling two-kilogram bags of sugar for 60 cents a pop. The party will also feature a bargain-couture fashion show and free hot dogs.
I'm still an Igor fan
I'm a bike buff and Igor's on Queen is my closest bike store. I'd go there a lot for repairs and tuning. Chat - mostly about gear-head stuff. Even though I'm 6'5'', 240 lbs., Igor Kenk always frightened me, a little. With his shirt off, he's ripped, an Adonis. And there was something in his eyes. He looked a little volatile. Someone told me he was an Uzbek (he's actually Slovenian). Once, I mentioned someone was bothering me and Igor offered to bestow a ''real Gestapo beating.''
Graffiti we love
SPUD PHIL SILENT bird ... where are you? Or, more to the point, who are you? Recently, this graf showed up on the wall of a building near the burned-out location at Queen and Bathurst. We were arrested by the restrained printing style. It almost looks as if it were drawn over a ruler. And the mysteriousness of the saying.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
FIVE THINGS THIS WEEKEND
1Vancouver Folk Music Festival The weather folks are calling for nothing but sunshine this weekend, so head to picturesque Jericho Park, where you'll find big-name acts including Aimee Mann, and Michael Franti and Spearhead, as well as countless hidden musical gems from around the world, at this favourite seaside fest. thefestival.bc.ca
Police charge nightclub bouncer with assault
A Kelowna nightclub bouncer has been bounced from his job and charged with assault after police say he slammed a man against a wall.RCMP officers were driving by when they noticed the 34-year-old bouncer hitting a ''substantially smaller'' man against a wall outside the Liquid Zoo.
Future nearly flushed away for Island visitor
The call of nature turned into something a little more dire for a Vancouver Island visitor when he was inadvertently locked in the loo in Chemainus.The man was visiting the east-coast Vancouver Island community on Thursday and was using the washroom at a local park.
COLUMNISTS
Legalization in disguise
Billy Weselowski has seen it all, and he hates what he sees on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. ''You can't go a block without a bicycle pulling up and giving you all the syringes you want,'' he growls.
That's it, Silvio, give 'em a taste of the old Petawawa
To Silvio BerlusconiPalazzo del QuirinaleRome, ItalyCiao, Silvio,I see you are doing something about those troublesome ethnic minorities. As a Canadian, I can only commiserate: We have been through this before, decades ago, and one ethnic group in particular gave us a lot of trouble. I hope our history can offer you some lessons.
CHESS
No. 32: Black to play.Vassily Ivanchuk is the most enigmatic and uneven of the world's top players. That he is capable of beating anybody was proven by his victory in the Rapid Chess (about 30 minutes per player for the game) event at Leon, Spain. He eliminated Alexei Shirov, and then took care of Viswanathan Anand in the final. Mr. Anand is not only the world champion, he is also considered far and away the best Rapid Chess player in the world.
No laughing matter
Oh, dear. There's such a fuss about that New Yorker cover featuring Barack and Michelle Obama. Worse, the cover is a cartoon.It really is too bad that the Americans don't have human-rights commissions to swaddle cartoonaphobics.
Here's the thing: What do the Harperites do next?
What now for the Harper government?It has already survived for 30 months, much longer than the Harperites thought. They assumed an election within 18 months, maybe 24, for that had been the shelf life of previous minorities. So they got their election promises done: the overwrought Accountability Act, the family allowance cheques, various tougher criminal justice measures, money for defence.
You mean the swastika-drawing mother wasn't just some columnist's fantasy?
When columnists want to make a point about the dangers of ignoring a troubling behaviour, we generally all resort to the same example: When we want to give an instance of an unlikely, outrageous and extreme version of any behaviour, we write about Nazis. We ''Nazi out,'' as I call it, in a heartbeat. We assume that most readers will stay with us because they, too, dislike Nazis.
Lots of backing for backing in
This week, Collected Wisdom is driving to the supermarket in its luxury Globe and Mail company car - a 1978 AMC Gremlin. But do we reverse into that parking space or drive forward into it?
