Canadians going to US for long stays need to be mindful of changes, says MP

Canadian border guards are silhouetted as they replace each other at an inspection booth at the Douglas border crossing on the Canada-USA border in Surrey, B.C., August 20, 2009

CBC - A BC. MP is warning people about a new information-sharing agreement between Canada and the United States that could put travellers who spend a lot of time in the U.S. at risk of significant consequences.

The Entry Exit Initiative allows officials to track how many days Canadians have spent in the U.S. Prior to the agreement, the country could only track re-entry dates, not exit dates.

"We were specially wanting to alert people that this could potentially be a problem for them if they were being careless about their travel," said Gail Hunnisett, constituency assistant for Alex Atamanenko, MP for B.C. Southern Interior.

Hunnisett said she's been fielding a lot of calls since her office put out the information.

Transport Canada to study climate change impact on 3 northern airports

CBC - Transport Canada to study climate change impact on 3 northern airports

CBC
The federal government is commissioning a study to look at the effects climate change is having on northern infrastructure.

The study will focus on three northern airports: Inuvik, N.W.T., Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, and Churchill, Man. It will examine the damage and look at ways to stop it from getting worse.

Transport Canada says the results could help airport operators determine what investments are needed and help them adapt to the changing climate.

But critics say it's simply a band-aid solution.

Harvard university to change sexual assault policies after federal investigation

A seal hangs over a building at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts November 16, 2012. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi

 By Elvina Nawaguna 

Harvard University has agreed to make changes to its sexual assault policies and review some cases after an investigation found its law school had handled victim complaints poorly, the U.S. Department of Education said on Tuesday.

The agreement with the Ivy League school is part of the Obama administration's push to curb sexual violence in U.S. colleges and coax schools to get tougher in handling cases.

The Education Department's Office of Civil Rights found that Harvard Law School had failed to appropriately respond to two student complaints of sexual assault.

"In one instance, the Law School took over a year to make its final determination and the complainant was not allowed to participate in this extended appeal process, which ultimately resulted in the reversal of the initial decision to dismiss the accused student and dismissal of the complainant's complaint," the department said in its announcement.

PM Stephen Harper touts Alberta model for climate change

Prime Minister Stephen Harper answers a question during question period in the House of Commons, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014 in Ottawa. The Canadian Press 

The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the Alberta approach to pricing and controlling greenhouse gas emissions could serve as a model for all of North America.

In a year-end interview with CBC News, Harper insisted that Canada can’t impose new rules on its oil and gas sector unless the United States does too.

But he added that he is actively proposing to the U.S. and to Mexico that they work with Canada to cut emissions “on a continental basis,” and the Alberta model is one that could work for all three countries.

“The Province of Alberta itself already has a (model); it’s one of the few GHG regulatory environments in the country….” Harper said. “I think it’s a model on which you could, on which you could go broader.”

Tim Hortons Become Restaurant Brand International

Mohamed Omar | Huff
With the spontaneity of a newlywed couple, Tim Hortons and Burger King have gone and created a new parent company.

Restaurant Brands International will be the name of the new company that houses the two just-hitched firms, according to a press release. RBI will be based in Oakville, Ont. and oversee 18,000 restaurants operating in 100 countries.

The name won't be creeping up on Canadians, though. Restaurant Brands International will only serve as the corporate name, according to Global News.

Tim Hortons will remain "an independent, iconic Canadian brand," said Marc Caira, president and CEO of Tim Hortons Inc, "but with significant opportunities to accelerate our brand development around the world."

Your Mind Is The Engine Room Of Changes

Despite New Changes, Canada Post To Turn Profit In 2014

Linda Nguyen
Despite more people still choosing email over snail mail, the Canada Post Group of Companies says it's on track to earn a profit this year despite an earlier forecast for a multimillion-dollar loss.

The Crown corporation said it earned $84 million before tax for the first three quarters of the year, driven by its parcels business and higher stamp prices, along with lower employee benefit expenses.

In its 2014 corporate plan, it had projected that it would lose $274 million before taxes for the year.

"Despite the uncertainty about volume erosion, improvements to the bottom line are expected to continue in the fourth quarter and a net profit for the year ended Dec. 31," Canada Post said as it reported its third-quarter results Wednesday.

Motivation | It's Time For Changes "You Cannot Build Anything That Wont Bring A Battle

New Cable Changes Could Dramatically Change Canadian TV

Canada's broadcast regulator is set to begin a two-week public hearing into sweeping proposals that could, if adopted, dramatically change how Canadians receive and pay for their television.

The proposals, issued last month by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, include requiring cable and satellite providers to offer a basic service made up primarily of local Canadian channels.

The CRTC is also proposing a pick-and-pay structure that would let Canadians choose individual channels, on top of a basic service.

And the regulator suggests the price of that basic service could be capped at between $20 and $30 per month.

The proposals, which have evolved through consultations with the public and industry over the past year, will likely result in a major departure from the current TV content delivery model.

Industry Minister James Moore first indicated last October that he'd like to see more choice for Canadian television consumers.

The Conservative government then laid out its plans to overhaul the country's TV distribution system in its speech from the throne, which included a proposed "pick-and-pay" service structure.

The public hearing starts Monday in Gatineau, Que., and continues until Sept. 19.

Big Brother Canada Host Arisa Cox Quit Job To Straighten Afro

I was 24 years old. I was working at a now-defunct TV station in Ottawa and had just been promoted to entertainment/weather anchor for the evening and nightly news.

I hadn't wanted to return to the often soul-destroying intensity of daily news after a year of reality TV in Toronto. But news is where I started my career in TV, cutting my teeth reporting local news for CJOH-TV during my third year as a Journalism major at Carleton University.

And though I had been enjoying my semi-obscure job as a creative producer at a different local TV channel, I was young, and the $17,000 raise offered to promote me back into news was hard to refuse. In the end, I had a blast. The staff was young, energetic and we got no sleep but worked really hard and made lifelong friendships doing it.

After the three-month probationary period was up, I had a customary performance review with the news executive. And the bomb dropped.

"You've worn your hair straight from time to time, we'd like you to wear it straight on the show." I could feel the heat rising in my body. Ears buzzing.

"I'm not interested," I replied without a beat. I was told the request wasn't optional "if I wanted to keep my job."

I wasn't clutching my pearls, I was seething.

I remember raging to my mother over the phone right afterwards, floored that a middle-aged white dude had the balls to tell me, a modern black woman, in a country as diverse as Canada, how to wear my hair. My stubborn streak exploded. I didn't care about corporate desires for me or my appearance.

French PM Resigns After Election Debacle, Valls Takes Over



French President Francois Hollande has confirmed that Interior Minister Manuel Valls is to become the country's new prime minister. Valls will replace Jean-Marc Ayrault, who resigned after an election debacle.

Hollande confirmed the widely expected appointment of the 51-year-old Valls in a televised address to the nation on Sunday.

In his speech, Hollande said he had decided it was "time to begin a new chapter" in his presidency in reaction to the rout of his party in municipal elections.