Tag: politics

News Politics

Canadian Senators Being Investigated

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The Canadian Senate is an important part of the Government of Canada, but now some senators are being investigated to find out if they took money they weren’t entitled to.

A senator’s job is to give the final approval to a bill before it becomes law.

Some Senate members have been accused of taking money for things that are not covered by their Senate budget.

The expenses of senators Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin, Mac Harb, and Patrick Brazeau are being looked at.

Mike Duffy used to be a journalist before he was appointed to the Senate. In the Senate, he represents Prince Edward Island.

He was accused, along with the other senators, of taking money for things that he had no right to.

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Kids Lighter Politics

Four-Year-Old Becomes Mayor Of Small Town

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A four-year-old boy named Robert Tufts is the mayor of the small town of Dorset in Minnesota.

He was given the job last August – when he was only three – and will continue to be mayor until this August.

The boy was awarded the position after his name was pulled out of a hat.

Once a year, people who live in or nearby Dorset can pay $1 to have their name written on piece of paper and put into a hat.

Then a name is randomly drawn out of the hat, and the person whose name it is becomes the mayor.

Last year, Robert Tufts’ name was pulled out.

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News Politics

Surprising Win For Liberals In BC Election

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The Liberals unexpectedly won the provincial election in British Columbia on Tuesday surprising many people, who thought the New Democratic Party (NDP) would win.

The Liberals and the NDP are two of Canada’s biggest political parties.

The Liberals were already in power in B.C.; after this election, they will stay in power.

Being “in power” in this case means they are responsible for making many of the important decisions involving laws and money in the province. It also means that their leader is the Premier of the province.

Many people—including political experts—thought the New Democratic Party would win the election. Not only did the Liberals win, but they won a “majority government.” That means they have more seats in the legislature than all of the other parties combined.

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News Politics

The Netherlands Gets Its First King In 123 Years

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On Tuesday, the people of the Netherlands got a new king.

That’s because their queen, Queen Beatrix, abdicated the throne.

Abdicated means she stepped down—stopped being queen—to let her son take over the throne and become king.

Her eldest son is Willem-Alexander; he was Crown Prince and now is King.

Canada and the Netherlands have a connection.

During World War II, Beatrix’s family lived in Ottawa, Ont., Canada’s capital city, for five years.

Beatrix’s younger sister, Margriet, was born in Ottawa Civic Hospital in 1943.

At that time, a “federal proclamation” was made to declare the maternity (birthing) ward of the hospital “extraterritorial.” In other words, the room in which Margriet was born was declared neutral ground. That’s so the new royal baby would obtain Dutch citizenship through her parents, rather than Dutch plus Canadian (dual) citizenship because she was born in Canada.

The Dutch royal family thanked Canada for allowing them to live in Ottawa during the war by giving Canada 100,000 tulip bulbs. They continue to send the bulbs each year to Canada. The tulip bulbs form the basis for Ottawa’s stunning annual tulip festival.

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News Politics

Justin Trudeau New Leader Of Federal Liberals

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Justin Trudeau is the new leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Justin Trudeau is the son of Pierre Trudeau, who was the charismatic Prime Minister of Canada for more than 15 years in the 1960s, 70s and 80s.

A new kind of Trudeaumania swept the Liberal Party on Sunday, where Justin Trudeau won the leadership of the party by a landslide.

He took more than 80 per cent of the vote, winning handily on the first ballot.

Trudeau has a big challenge—to get the Liberal party focused again, and eventually to get it back in power.

He wants to be Canada’s next prime minister.

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Politics

Cyprus The Latest Country To Get A Bailout

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Cyprus is the latest country to require a financial “bailout” from other European countries to keep its banks and economy from collapsing.

Like Greece, which was bailed out of an economic crisis last year, Cyprus is one of 17 countries in Europe that uses a type of currency, or money, called the Euro.

The problems for Cyprus began with the country’s banks, which loaned money to people who didn’t pay it back. Governments of other countries that use the Euro became nervous that Cyprus banks would fail if they were re-paid, and that the problems could spread to their countries.

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News Politics

Change Comes 55 Years After the Cuban Revolution

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Sirens. Security alarms. Sales pitches: “Taxi? Good restaurant! Best music CD? My art studio?”

These are the new sounds of Havana, Cuba.

This is my sixth time in Cuba–I am here on vacation; this year, I hear and see change.

It is almost 55 years since Cuba became a socialist country. In Cuba, socialism means that each Cuban has the same rights, the same salary and the same education as everyone else in the country.

Fidel Castro, former President of Cuba, brought socialism to the country in 1959 when he and his rebel forces took over the government. Now Cubans receive free education, free health care and most jobs have been protected by the government.

But the Cuban government is running out of money to pay for everything.

Things have to change.

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News Politics

Hugo Chávez, President Of Venezuela, Remembered For Social Reforms

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Hugo Chávez, the charismatic president of Venezuela, died on Tuesday. He was 58.

Chávez had been the president of the South American country since 1998.

Chávez grew up in a very poor family. He dreamed of becoming a baseball player, but instead he studied at a military academy and then joined the army.

As a student and a soldier, Chávez read many books and became interested in politics and the problems affecting poor people in Venezuela. He believed that the people running the government at the time were dishonest, and were taking money that should have been used to help the whole country.

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News Politics

Rob Ford Wins His Legal Case, Remains As Toronto’s Mayor

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Rob Ford has won his appeal and will remain as Toronto’s mayor.

Last November, Ford was removed from office – in other words, told by a judge that he could no longer be mayor.

The judge said Ford broke a “conflict of interest” law after he voted on an issue that he, himself was involved in. The judge said Ford must step down as mayor.

However, Ford appealed the judge’s decision. That means he asked the court to look over the case and reverse the decision.

Three judges from the Ontario Divisional Court did just that. They ruled that Ford never broke the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.

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Politics

Day In The Life Of Canada’s PM

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Want to know what Canada’s prime minister did yesterday?

Just read his Twitter feed.

Harper tweeted a picture of his cat, Stanley, sitting on a chair beside him while the prime minister ate his breakfast.

He tweeted a time-lapsed video of his drive to work; viewers could see the Canadian flag flying on the hood of his car and watch the PM leave his limo with a briefcase full of work.

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