Category: Canada

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Canada U.S.

Stranded Canadians Caught in New York Snow

Stranded Canadians Caught in New York Snow
New York snow, stranded Canadians

The recent New York snow extravaganza has managed to keep stranded Canadians from getting home. Mr. and Mrs. Aldo Bartolini were trying to get home to Canada when a snowstorm in western New York caused the stranded Canadians to spend 24 hours in their vehicle on the side of the road, and they were not alone in their plight. When the New York snow started on Tuesday the couple were already headed for the Canadian border and were on their way home, but the snow made it impossible to complete the journey. The onset of the massive snowstorm stranded more than 100 vehicles on the New York State Thruway, and the storm covered roads, buried cars, and even blocked doorways in the area. The Bartolinis had no choice but to stop their vehicle on Route 5, and that was where the couple spent the next 24 hours until a good Samaritan with a snow blower helped out and removed some of the snow blocking several vehicles in. Mr. Bartolini explained “We were struck there with four-foot drifts all around the car and couldn’t get out.”

Even after the stranded Canadians managed to get back on the road their luck did not turn for the better. The New York snow is still preventing the Bartolini family from getting home. After finally getting the vehicle in motion again the couple attempted to head north to the Canadian border but all of the roads were closed down because of the New York snow, and they ended up circling back to where they started. Bartolini told CP24 “We were able to get on some plowed roads and made our way back to the hotel.”

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Canada

Is Stephanie Beaudoin the Sexiest Thief in the World?

Is Stephanie Beaudoin the Sexiest Thief in the World?
sexiest thief in the world, Stephanie Beaudoin

For many people in many countries Stephanie Beaudoin is considered the sexiest thief in the world, but is this true and if so is it something that Canadians can boast about with pride? The 21 year old who is a nursing student in Quebec is accused of committing a large burglary spree with 3 accomplices, and all of her accomplices were teenagers. At first the arrest of Stephanie Beaudoin only attracted local interest, but that soon changed when a tabloid found photos of Beaudoin looking very sexy in a black string bikini. After the tabloids posted the photos people went wild, taking to social media and calling Stephanie the sexiest thief in the world. Soon the pictures and social media comments went viral and the entire world found out about the Canadian 21 year old who was a hottie and a criminal both.

Stephanie Beaudoin, the sexiest thief in the world, is facing a total of 114 criminal charges. This is a very large number and it is highly doubtful that the smoldering beauty will be able to tempt the judge into being lenient just because she is young and pretty. Some people were using social media to invite the female burglar to come and rob them. One man even went so far as to post his address, along with a note that he leaves a spare key under the flowerpot by the door. While the Canadian criminal with stunning good looks will probably not visit the man may find himself being robbed by more ordinary thieves instead.

Categories
Canada U.S.

Keystone Pipeline Bill Loses By a Single Vote in U.S. Senate

keystone pipeline bill, U.S. Senate
keystone pipeline bill, U.S. Senate

The U.S. Senate rejected the keystone pipeline bill, and this bill lost by a single vote. The attempt to pass the bill was a bipartisan effort, with both Democrats and Republicans on board. The keystone pipeline bill required 60 votes to pass the U.S. Senate and move on to the White House, and the final vote tally was 59 for the bill to 41 against. The bill was killed for now, but that could change quickly on January 1, 2015 when a new Congress takes office and the Republicans will have a majority in both houses. It may become much easier to pass this bill, which has been stalled for a considerable time due to Democratic opposition in Congress. In a surprise move, which many attribute to a very close run off race against a Republican later this year, Democrat Mary Landrieu was the one who finally brought the bill to the floor to be voted on.

The rejection of the keystone pipeline bill by the U.S. Senate is believed to be a minor setback, and most Americans and Canadians believe that this project will eventually be approved. The fact that the U.S. Senate still has a Democrat majority and the bill only failed to pass by one small vote shows that the tide has finally turned. In the past environmentalists were dead set against the pipeline due to fears about harm to the environment and that helped to stall the bill without being voted on. The keystone pipeline bill vote itself was a big step forward and it shows that progress is being made even if it is happening at a snail’s pace.

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Canada

Partners to explore how Social Media Technologies can Support Disaster Recovery Efforts – Defence Research and Development Canada Canadian Red Cross to co-host Digital Volunteer-Support Recovery Operations Experiment

November 19, 2014

The 2010 earthquake in Haiti and other recent disasters have highlighted the important role that social media and “digital volunteers” can play in supporting emergency response and recovery efforts.

Social media provides emergency management organizations with an opportunity to connect with the public, and reach people quickly with alerts, warnings and preparedness messages. It also provides “digital volunteers” with a rich source of information posted by the public experiencing the disaster. This information can be harnessed to create situational awareness products to help emergency management officials and first responders gain a better understanding of what is happening on the ground (for example, by creating a map that indicates the location of injured people and damaged buildings).

In recognition of the ever-increasing role of social media in these situations, Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) will co-host the Digital Volunteer-Supported Recovery Operations Experiment, in partnership with the Canadian Red Cross Disaster Management Forum in Halifax from November 18 to 20, 2014.

The experiment, funded through the Canadian Safety and Security Program, is one of the activities under the broader Canada-U.S Resiliency Experiment, known as CAUSE III. It will bring together government officials, first responders, humanitarian and not-for-profit workers, and digital volunteers from across Canada and the United States to explore how the emergency management community can partner with digital volunteers to strengthen their capacity to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters.

Quick Facts
The Digital Volunteer Experiment is a collaborative effort between DRDC’s Centre for Security Science and the Canadian Red Cross, also supported by the American Red Cross. Partners include Public Safety Canada, Halifax Regional Municipality, the Province of Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office, and Virtual Volunteer Groups, including CrisisCommons and the Canadian Virtual Operations Support Team.
During the Experiment, stakeholders and digital volunteers from the United States will also be engaged to demonstrate the effectiveness of cross-border coordination. This includes participants from the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate, its Virtual Social Media Working Group and associated partners, as well as other key stakeholders from the first responder community and private sector.
The Canadian Safety and Security Program (CSSP) is led by Defence Research and Development Canada’s Centre for Security Science, in partnership with Public Safety Canada.
The CSSP’s mission is to strengthen Canada’s ability to anticipate, prevent/mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism, crime, natural disasters, and serious accidents through the convergence of Science and Technology (S&T) with policy, operations and intelligence.
DRDC is the national leader in defence and security science and technology. As an agency of Canada’s Department of National Defence (DND), DRDC provides the DND, the Canadian Armed Forces and other government departments as well as the public safety and national security communities with the knowledge and technology advantage needed to defend and protect Canada’s interests at home and abroad.
Public Safety Canada’s mandate is to keep Canadians safe from a range of risks such as natural disasters, crime and terrorism. Public Safety works with all levels of government, first responders, community groups, the private sector and other nations, on national security, border strategies, countering crime and emergency management issues and other safety and security initiatives.
Quotes

“Social media is changing how we approach certain aspects of safety and security. We are very proud to be partnering with leaders and with the community in this domain to collaboratively advance the knowledge and operational capability in the use of social media for emergency management in Canada.” 

Dr. Marc Fortin, Assistant Deputy Minister (S&T), Department of National Defence

“This experiment will provide us with important information about how we can leverage the power of social media to engage partners from different sectors, right down to the individual level. This sense of collaboration is a key element for the way forward for a whole-of-community approach to emergency management.”

Shawn Tupper, Assistant Deputy Minister, Emergency Management and Programs Branch, Public Safety Canada

“Social media is an invaluable communications tool and one that we can better use during times of an emergency to get information out as well as track what is happening on the ground. This experiment enables us to explore these opportunities to better understand and use social media.”

Andy Lathem, Executive Director, Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office

“The impact of social media increases exponentially with each new disaster or emergency. This experiment in tandem with our Disaster Management Forum in Halifax will give our participants a clearer understanding of the ways in which digital volunteers are a resource they can tap.”

John L. Byrne, Director General, Disaster Management, Canadian Red Cross

Associated Links

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Contacts

Media Relations
Department of National Defence
Toll-Free: 1 866 377-0811

Source:: http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=905999

      

Categories
Canada

Minister Finley to speak at Canadian Aerospace Summit

OTTAWA, Ontario, November 17, 2014 – The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Public Works and Government Services, will engage with industry at the Canadian Aerospace Summit, Canada’s leading national aerospace event, in Ottawa.

Date: November 18, 2014
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Ottawa Convention Centre
55 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario

INFORMATION:

Marcel Poulin
Office of the Honourable Diane Finley
819-997-5421

Media Relations
Public Works and Government Services Canada
819-956-2315

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Source:: http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=905359

      

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Breaking News Canada

20 Year Old Man Receives No Jail Time in Child Pornography Case With a High Profile

child pornography, lack of jail time
child pornography, lack of jail time

Many are shocked at a criminal sentence which seems incredibly light for charges of child pornography, with no jail time at all given to the 20 year old defendant. The two defendants in the case and the victim are all unnamed in the media due to a publication ban which forbids the media from identifying the individuals. The man sentenced was under 18 years old when the crime occurred, and his case was handled by the juvenile court so his identity is protected. The case centered around the male taking pictures of a friend who was engaged in sex with a minor. In the photo the girl is seen vomiting out of a window, and the friend is engaged in a sex act with the female while giving the camera a thumbs up.

The child pornography case became high profile, especially after the female in the picture committed suicide due to being bullied when the photo was circulated among her friends and peers. The age of the victim when she killed herself was just 18 years old. Defense attorneys requested that the impact statements from family members of the victim be disregarded because the family blamed the defendant for the suicide of the girl, and pointed out that the defendant was not charged with this. The judge responded “Are you seriously trying to say that you don’t want this court to consider what happened to (the victim) after this photo was taken? The defendant received no jail time, just 12 months of probation and a sexual harassment class in order to keep the conviction from staying on his record.