Tag: Canada

News

Radio-Canada Flip-Flops On Name Change

Radio-Canada, the French-language branch of the CBC, announced on June 5 that it was changing its name to “ICI”.

So many people objected to the change, however, that on June 10 the president of the CBC said the broadcaster would keep the name Radio-Canada after all.

The organization uses the tagline “Ici Radio-Canada” on its TV and radio news stories. It wanted to “rebrand” itself with a name that could be used for all of its services – television, radio, satellite and website – so it planned to drop “Radio-Canada” from its name and be known simply as “ICI.”

But many Canadians were very upset about the name change. They objected to removing the word “Canada” from the name because the organization is part of Canada’s heritage, and because it is paid for with money from Canadian taxpayers.

CBC/Radio-Canada was created by the government in 1936 to be Canada’s national public broadcaster. The organization gets most of the money it needs to operate – about 60 per cent, or $1-billion a year – from the government.

Its official purpose is to provide programming that is “predominantly and distinctively Canadian,” and to “contribute to shared national consciousness and identity.”

Federal Heritage Minister James Moore, who is in charge of giving money to CBC/Radio-Canada, also opposed to new name. He said taxpayers would only be willing to pay for the broadcaster if it was Canadian in content and in name.

News Politics

“Father Of South Africa” Nelson Mandela Responding Well To Treatment In Hospital

Nelson Mandela is responding well to treatment, according to his doctors.

Mandela is one of the most well-known and respected people in the world.

He is 94 years old and is in hospital, fighting a recurring lung infection.

Doctors say he is in serious but stable condition.

To many people around the world, Mandela is known as a great hero.

He fought for the freedom of blacks in South Africa.

During the 1950s until the late 1980s, South Africa was ruled by a relatively small number of white people. Black people, in the majority in the country, had few rights.

The separation of white people and black people** was known as “apartheid.”

Blacks were not allowed to be citizens, and were not given the same rights as white people. Services for black people were greatly inferior to those provided to white people. Black people were not allowed access to the best schools, hospitals, beaches or many other services to which the country’s white people had access.

Apartheid was denounced around the world, but South Africa’s government refused to change its policy.

Nelson Mandela, and people who followed him, wanted to change things.

News Science

Want To Be An Astronaut? A New Post Has Just Opened Up

Canadian astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield will soon be simply, “Mr. Hadfield.”

That’s because he has announced that he is resigning.

In this case, “resigning” means stopping his job as an astronaut.

Hadfield has been an astronaut for 35 years.

Recently, he gained wide popularity after sending photos and videos to Earth from the International Space Station.

Many people around the world enjoyed his tweets and Facebook posts from space.

News Politics

Stores Near G8 Summit Location Getting Temporary Facelift

Some businesses in Northern Ireland are getting a facelift before some of the world’s most powerful leaders meet there later this month.

The G8 Summit will take place in Ireland, June 17 to 18.

The G8 Summit brings together the leaders of eight of the world’s wealthiest countries. They are: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK and the US. The European Union is also represented at the meeting.

More than 100 businesses in a small town called Belcoo have been “spruced up,” according to news agency Reuters.

Some businesses have been made more attractive with fake store fronts. Some ugly and crumbling buildings have been torn down. Others have been covered by huge billboards, according to Reuters.

The businesses are near a golf course where the G8 leaders will meet.

So instead of Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper or U.S. president Barack Obama seeing ugly storefronts, they’ll see posters of nice storefronts instead.

More than $3-million dollars have been spent by the government in Northern Ireland to make the villages look nicer.

At one store, which used to be a butcher’s shop but is now empty, colourful stickers have been put on the windows to make it look like it’s busy inside, Reuters reported.

News

Canadian Teens Will Stand Up Against Bullying

Teens across Canada will soon be helping their peers to shut down bullying.

The Canadian government announced it will spend a quarter of a million dollars on a new anti-bullying project called Stand Up to Bullying and Discrimination in Canadian Communities.

The Canadian Red Cross will organize the project, which will involve more than 50,000 Canadian youths.

The first step will be for 2,400 “facilitators,” aged 13 to 17, to put on anti-bullying workshops. The goal is for least 20 young people to be in the audience at each workshop.

The project’s second phase includes three gatherings, led by young people, in Ontario, British Columbia and the Atlantic region. During each gathering, 150 Canadian kids will be empowered to “take action against bullying and discrimination in their communities,” according to a media release from the Canadian Red Cross.

“The Red Cross has been working for many years in Canada to engage youth and harness their leadership to prevent bullying and harassment,” said Conrad Sauvé, Secretary General and CEO of the Canadian Red Cross,” according to the media release.

Sports

Hockey Canada Bans Bodychecking For Peewee Players

Hockey Canada – the organization that sets the rules for amateur hockey leagues in Canada – has voted to eliminate bodychecking for peewee players across the country.

The ban will start in September 2013.

One of the main reasons for the ban is safety, says Paul Carson, vice-president of hockey development for Hockey Canada.

Last year, researchers at the University of Calgary found that young players are three times more likely to be injured in leagues where bodychecking is allowed than in leagues with no bodychecking.

The study showed that peewee players in Alberta, where bodychecking was allowed, suffered 209 injuries and 73 concussions.

In Quebec, where bodychecking is not allowed, there were 70 injuries and 20 concussions.

News Politics

Canadian Senators Being Investigated

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.

Animals Science

New Species Of Dinosaur Found In Alberta

A dome-headed dinosaur skull found in southern Alberta is helping scientists rethink some of their ideas about dinosaurs.

The skull was found in 2008 by a team of scientists led by Dr. David Evans of the Royal Ontario Museum.

The skull is about 85 million years old.

The top of the skull is made of a dome-shaped mass of solid bone about 10 centimetres thick.

This means the dinosaur belonged to a group of dinosaurs called pachycephalosaurs (“thick-headed lizards”).

The scientists compared the skull to all of the known pachycephalosaur specimens in the world – about 600 of them.

They learned that there are 16 different species within that group, and the skull discovered in Alberta belongs to a species that has never been seen before.

Health Kids

For Healthier Kids, Put Away The Car And Walk To School

Only a quarter of Canadian kids walk or bike to school and that’s not enough, according to a new “report card on physical activity for children and youth.”

Active Healthy Kids Canada (AHKC) is a Canadian charity that encourages children and their parents to get more exercise.

Their report found that only 24 per cent of five to 17-year-olds in Canada use “active transportation” to get to school.

“Active transportation” means not using cars, trains or buses.

On the other hand, their parents were twice as likely to walk to school when they were children.

Every year in its report card, AHKC focuses on one aspect of healthy living.

This year’s theme, “driving,” looked at how much exercise kids are getting when they travel to and from different places near their homes.

News Science

First Human Colony Planned For Mars

A Dutch business owner is looking for people who want to live on Mars.

He believes that with proper preparation, a human settlement can exist on the Red Planet.

He said the settlement would provide valuable information for those who support and study life beyond Earth.

The project is called Mars One and nearly 80,000 people–including 35 Canadians–have applied to start a new life on Mars.

Those who are chosen to go would set up a colony, similar to a city.

Supplies for the colony will be sent to Mars beginning in 2016.

The first four settlers are scheduled to be transported to Mars in 2023.