Thursday January 01, 2009
ACROSS CANADA 
Youthful ambition for return to tradition
When Amardeep Singh Deol arrives at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Surrey for an interview, he appears uncertain about where to sit. About two dozen people are in the temple's dining hall and community kitchen. Mr. Deol wanders over to a back corner of the room. But he will not sit at one of the vacant tables.
Triumph follows tragedy in the mountains of B.C.
Jeff Adams had just struggled free from a mound of snow and was frantically digging to free one of his closest friends when he heard the crack that meant a third avalanche was about to come cascading down the mountain.
'I had a desire to complete the circle'
Michael Robinson is coming home. The Vancouver-born former chief executive officer and president of Calgary's Glenbow Museum starts his new job as executive director of the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art today, just before his 58th birthday. It's a move he describes as ''somewhat salmonoid.''
Fulfilment is now the operative word at CSIS
A decade ago, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service was in rough shape - gutted by a high turnover rate, a flood of retirements and little interest among Canadian workers.Today, a position at CSIS is one of the most sought-after jobs in the country.
8 kids and a 3-hour commute didn't stop this nurse
With nursing shortages across Atlantic Canada, and several provinces facing possible labour problems in the profession, the self-assurance of new graduate Tanya Forance is a breath of fresh air.
Tories seek to rebuild Quebec organization
The Conservative Party is reorganizing its entire effort in Quebec after lacklustre results in the last federal election and a subsequent parliamentary crisis that alienated a portion of the party's nationalist electorate.
Family skeptical of charges Markham man spied for Hussein
If U.S. suspicions about a Toronto man being a spy for Saddam Hussein are correct, then a life of intelligence intrigue in Washington has become one of Canadian suburban banality.
Triumph follows tragedy in the mountains of B.C.
Against all odds, rescuers found snowboarder James Martin alive yesterday, more than three days after he went missing on Mount Seymour in North Vancouver.Mr. Martin was found frozen stiff, unable to walk and with frostbite on his hands, according to one report. He told his rescuers that he hadn't moved since managing to make his way down the mountain to a spot near Suicide Gully a day earlier. He was being taken to a local hospital for treatment, but was described as coherent.
'We had to ... leave our eight friends and start walking off the mountain'
''We were riding in the bottom of the bowl. No one was climbing, no one was high-marking.At approximately 1:40 in the afternoon, Mike Stier was stuck at the base of the mountain, getting his sled out when the first slide hit us.
Owner who left horses to die wants them back
An Edmonton lawyer who left two famished horses to die in the snow on a remote mountainside says he cares for the animals and wants them back.Frank Mackay said he's ready to challenge animal-protection authorities and horse lovers in the village of McBride, B.C., who rescued the two rail-thin animals from their snowy prison after discovering them by chance in December.
Minister wants Act changed to force homeless into shelters
Housing Minister Rich Coleman says the Mental Health Act needs to be changed so homeless people can be forced into shelters for their own good.''I just think it's important to take a hard look at it,'' Mr. Coleman said yesterday in an interview.
Nova Scotia braces for another blast of winter
Nova Scotians prepared to welcome the new year with a dump of 30 centimetres of snow last night as a large winter storm swept toward the province.Environment Canada warned of blowing snow and zero visibility as the blizzard made its way north from Cape Cod. Parts of Cape Breton were threatened with up to 60 centimetres of snow, and the mainland was anticipating between 25 and 40 centimetres, with winds of up to 100 kilometres an hour.
Cashier after botched robbery: 'It was like world's dumbest criminals'
It was just before closing time and cashier Julia Kistner was mopping up at the Vernon mall's dollar store when a would-be thief sidled up to the till.
Phone call false lead in search for Canadian
A phone call from a stranger in Hong Kong saying he had seen missing Canadian tourist Ani Ashekian yesterday turned out to be a false lead, but bolstered search efforts for the 30-year-old who disappeared during a solo vacation to Asia.
Angry Nicholson rules out COC crest on Olympic sweater
Bob Nicholson says there are almost a dozen design options for the hockey sweater to be worn by Canada's teams at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.But the president of Hockey Canada vows that the uniform will not feature the Olympic-sanctioned crest of the Canadian Olympic Committee. Nicholson, who was in Ottawa yesterday for the world junior hockey championship, said the committee's logo will not appear on the sweaters after a design he called a compromise was rejected by the COC.
MUSIC: GOING OUT
Happy New Year!Kick off 2009 with Salute to Vienna, a New Year's Day tradition that features the Strauss Symphony of Canada, the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, Viennese soprano Melanie Holliday, Viennese/Icelandic tenor Thorsteinn Arbjornsson and Budapest conductor Imre Kollar performing Viennese music, with dancers from the Vienna International Ballet and the International Champion Ballroom Dancers. Jan. 1, 2 p.m. $52 to 92. The Orpheum, Smithe at Seymour. Tickets at Ticketmaster.
Striking transit workers face forced vote on contract
The federal government is forcing striking transit workers in the nation's capital to vote on the latest contract offer from the City of Ottawa.The city says the vote is to be held on or before Jan. 9.
Two probes to examine death of woman who froze
There will be at least two separate investigations into how an 84-year-old woman froze to death after wandering out of her Kamloops care home.The Interior Health Authority is starting the investigations into the freezing death of Juliette Bombardier. A spokesman for the health authority says officials have met with the operators of the Pine Grove Care Centre to discuss the Boxing Day incident.
Plane diverted to deal with disruptive passenger
More than 200 airline passengers forced to make an unscheduled layover in the Dominican Republic because of an out-of-control seat mate were to arrive in Toronto last night.
NOTICE TO READERS
Due to a steep increase in newsprint costs, The Globe and Mail is implementing some price changes to home delivery. Effective Jan. 1, 2009, The Globe and Mail rates for home delivery will increase by 5 per cent for all subscription plans. Prices may vary across regions. For more details, please contact our customer care centre at 1-800-387-5400.
Boy injured protecting sister from dog attack
An eight-year-old boy suffered bites to his face, arms, legs and torso in trying to protect his sister as she was attacked by a 40 kilogram husky in Red Deer.
Three men face murder charges in beating death
Three men are facing a charge of second-degree murder in the alleged beating of a Winnipeg man.The suspects range in age from 18 to 27.The body of the 35-year-old man was found in an apartment stairwell in west-central Winnipeg Tuesday morning.
This is a holiday edition of The Globe and Mail
The usual lineup has been condensed into two sections. The front section includes News, Comment and Report on Business. The second section contains British Columbia, Sports, Review, Obituaries, Pastimes, Life, Weather and Facts and Arguments. Tomorrow's paper will return to its normal format.
TORONTO
Roads riddled with potholes after weeks of wacky weather
They're ugly, they're dangerous and they're everywhere. The unusual shifts in temperature resulted in the city repairing more than 260,000 potholes in 2008, up from 145,000 the previous year, said Myles Currie, director of the city's transportation services. This year, the city also spent $2.5-million more than projected on road repairs.
Revamped Kingsway Theatre ready to roll
The gloomy economic forecast is the perfect subplot for one new venture opening its doors in Bloor West Village tomorrow night.After two years in the dark, the renovated Kingsway Theatre will open with two critically acclaimed films, and a request for understanding from its patrons.
Hwy. 407 tolls to rise for peak hours in February
It's going to cost more to drive Highway 407 in February.The company that operates the toll road says peak-hour tolls for light vehicles between will rise by as much as 0.6 cents to 19.85 cents per kilometre. Off-peak rates will remain unchanged. In addition, a 25-cent charge will be levied on all trips for light vehicles.
Scores of Ontarians have a dark New Year
It's going to be a dark New Year's Day for some in Ontario.About 20,000 customers remain without power after windstorms on Sunday and Monday, and some won't have it back until tomorrow.
TD services back on line after nationwide glitch
TD Bank says it has fixed a computer glitch that caused outages of its customer banking and investor services across the country for several hours yesterday.TD representative Simon Townsend wrote in an e-mail that the problem, which started after 11 a.m., was ''related to an internal software issue.''
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Woman assaulted, robbed at Vancouver bus stop
Vancouver police are warning the public after a 23-year-old woman was robbed and sexually assaulted while waiting for a bus Tuesday night in east Vancouver.Constable Jana McGuinness says the woman was waiting at the bus stop alone when a man grabbed her from behind and walked her toward a nearby building where he robbed and sexually assaulted her. The male suspect is described as six feet tall with an average build and wearing dark winter clothing.
Air-travel weather woes worst in 70 years
Officials at Vancouver International Airport say the recent weather woes that wreaked havoc on travellers during the busiest time of the year were the worst in many decades.Don Ehrenholz, the airport's vice-president of operations, says the winter storm was the worst since 1935. He said the airport distributed 4,200 bottles of water, more than 1,500 snacks, 450 emergency blankets and 400 colouring books to passengers between Dec. 21 and 25.
CORRECTION
Constable Jana McGuinness is a Vancouver police spokesperson. Incorrect information appeared yesterday.
COLUMNISTS
Canada's face in Afghanistan doesn't fully show its diversity
It's a simple enough question, posed in a note this week from a reader who asked it first in a recent letter to the editor of the Vancouver Sun, which chose not to run it.
Forces probe death of Taliban insurgent
Canadian military investigators are probing allegations of ''inappropriate conduct'' in the death of a Taliban insurgent last fall, but little else has been made public.Reading from a written statement, Colonel Jamie Cade, deputy commander of NATO forces in Kandahar, told reporters that he was made aware of the allegations on Dec. 27. Investigators want to know if ''proper reporting procedures were followed,'' he said.
Bomb makers' bases destroyed, Afghan army official says
The Afghan National Army says its soldiers destroyed three suspected bomb-making compounds and killed a person believed to be planting roadside bombs during a recent operation.Colonel Ahmad Habibi told reporters at Kandahar Air Field the mission was planned and executed by the Afghan army under the tutelage of Canadian military mentors.
