Tweeting with the enemy? US diplomat uses social media to engage Cuban critics of Washington

By Peter Orsi, The Associated Press - Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 2:21 PM - 0 Comments

HAVANA – The meeting on a sunny Havana square was a little bit revolutionary for Cuba’s revolution. And for U.S. diplomacy as well.

Dozens of young bloggers and tweeters gathered to talk about their place in a socialist society whose leaders have referred to the Internet as “a wild colt” to be tamed and make access difficult for all but a few.

Among them were some of the staunchest defenders of Fidel and Raul Castro’s communist system. And there, too, stood what many consider their chief foe, in the guise of an affable, silver-haired stranger clad in sandals, khakis and a Hawaiian shirt.

Since arriving at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana nine months ago, Conrad Tribble has become perhaps its tweeter-in-chief, while reaching out to some of Washington’s most vocal critics.

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When is it OK for wunderkinds to drop out of school? (Hey, it worked for Tumblr’s founder!)

By Beth J. Harpaz, The Associated Press - Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 2:20 PM - 0 Comments

NEW YORK, N.Y. – It’s one thing to say tech geniuses don’t need degrees. After all, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg all dropped out of college.

But now we’ve got David Karp, who doesn’t even have a high school diploma. Karp, 26, founded Tumblr, the online blogging forum, and sold it to Yahoo for $1.1 billion.

Which raises the question: When is it OK for a wunderkind to drop out of school?

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Full text of Mark Carney’s last public speech as BoC governor

By Econowatch - Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 1:14 PM - 0 Comments

The governor is speaking at the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal today. Here are his prepared remarks:

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QP Live: Amidst a crisis in the Senate

By Nick Taylor-Vaisey - Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 12:44 PM - 0 Comments

Maclean’s is your home for the daily political theatre that is Question Period, when opposition and government MPs trade barbs and take names for 45 minutes every day. Today, QP runs from 2 p.m. until just past 3 p.m. We tell you who to watch, we stream it live, and we liveblog all the action. Once a week, we’ll feature a guest blogger to sort through the madness. The whole thing only matters if you participate. Read our morning tease to catch up on the issues of the day, and then chime in on Twitter with #QP.

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Photos: Scenes of devastation from Moore, Oklahoma

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 11:30 AM - 0 Comments

This aerial photo shows the remains of houses in Moore, Okla., following the three-kilometre-wide tornado on Monday, May 20, 2013 that roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs, flattening entire neighborhoods, setting buildings on fire and landing a direct blow on an elementary school.  (Steve Gooch/AP)

Rachel Hilton holds stray kittens she found in the debris of her parents’ home in Moore, Okla at SW 149th and Stone Meadows Dr. (The Oklahoman, Nate Billings/AP)

A woman carries a child through a field near the collapsed Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla. The relationship between the woman and the child was not immediately known. (Sue Ogrocki/AP)

This aerial photo shows damage to Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore Okla., after the tornado hit. (Steve Gooch/AP)

People walk through a neighborhood south of SW 149th between Western and Hudson. (The Oklahoman, Nate Billings/AP)

This aerial photo shows the remains of homes after the tornado, whose winds were upwards of 320 kph, struck. (Steve Gooch/AP)

A law enforcement official stands in the yard of a damaged home in Moore, Okla. (Gene Blevins/Reuters)

An American flag lies on top of an overturned car in Moore, Okla. Twenty-four people have been confirmed dead, reports The New York Times. It is possible that the number of dead could rise, as rescuers comb through the wreckage of destroyed buildings, including two schools and a hospital, which were levelled during the storm. (Gene Blevins/Reuters)

Ontario NDP will support minority Liberal’s budget: Andrea Horwath

By Emily Senger - Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 10:56 AM - 0 Comments

Dave Chidley/CP

The Ontario NDP will support the minority Liberal government to pass the budget, averting a spring election in the province.

NDP leader Andrea Horwath made the announcement during a news conference Tuesday morning.

Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne introduced the province’s budget — her first as premier — on May 2. Her minority government holds only 51 seats out of the 107 seats in the Ontario legislature and it needed support for the budget to pass.

Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak already said that his party would vote against the budget. “Today, the Liberal government chose to continue down a path that’s going to dig the hole deeper for all Ontarians,” he told reporters after Wynne introduced the provincial budget.

Horwath’s decision to support the budget comes after the Liberals agreed to the creation of a Financial Accountability Officer to monitor spending in the province.

Harper on expenses scandal: ‘I’m not happy. I’m very upset’

By macleans.ca and The Canadian Press - Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 10:06 AM - 0 Comments

First, the play by play:

Here’s a report on the speech from the Canadian Press:

OTTAWA – A “very upset” Prime Minister Stephen Harper wants any federal Conservative who is in politics to seek personal gain from public office to get out of his caucus.

Speaking to his MPs and senators in the midst of a scandal that took down his own chief of staff, Nigel Wright, over the weekend, Harper also promised to tighten Senate expense rules.

“I don’t think any of you are going to be very surprised to hear that I am not happy,” Harper said in his first public comments since revelations last week that Wright wrote a personal cheque worth $90,000 to embattled Sen. Mike Duffy.

“I’m very upset about the conduct we have witnessed, the conduct of some parliamentarians and the conduct of my own office.”

Harper reminded his caucus about a pointed warning he first issued in 2005: no one seeking elected office to line their own pockets would be welcome.

“Anyone who wants to use public office for their own benefit should make other plans, or better yet, leave this room,” Harper said, jabbing his finger for effect.

Many in the caucus looked sombre as they awaited Harper’s arrival, but they greeted his speech with an ovation.

Before the meeting began, Heritage Minister James Moore was asked expressly whether he believes Duffy should resign his Senate seat.

“I think Canadians expect members of Parliament and senators to respect taxpayers’ dollars,” Moore said. “Anybody who is not here respecting that commitment to Canadians, they should get out, they should leave.”

Duffy and Sen. Pamela Wallin have already left the caucus amid lingering questions about their expense claims. In Duffy’s case, an independent audit has already red-flagged more than $90,000 in housing expenses and per diems.

The Prime Minister’s Office confirmed last week that Wright, one of Harper’s most trusted confidantes, wrote Duffy a personal cheque to cover paying back the expenses. Wright stepped down on Sunday.

Harper said he has discussed the situation with Sen. Marjory LeBreton, the government leader in the Senate.

“She has my full support to accelerate changes to the Senate’s rules on expenses and close any loopholes in those existing rules,” he said. “And I expect Conservative senators, regardless of what opposition you may face, to get that done.”

Harper said the Conservatives came to office pledged to clean up Ottawa politics and they have to follow through.

Quebec Sen. Jacques Demers said anyone who takes money they are not entitled to should pay a price.

“If these people have done what has been speculated that they have done, they should be fired, they should not just be going to independent,” he said.

The former Montreal Canadiens hockey coach stressed that he supports the prime minister, but is pondering his own future. Demers said he may have to leave if the scandal isn’t cleared up to his satisfaction.

“I really, really trust Mr. Harper,” he said. “I’m in reflection period. It means I’m going to see what’s going to happen. I want to see if I’m going to stay in the Senate.”

For the record, here’s a transcript of the PM’s remarks:

Good morning, everyone.

Colleagues, obviously the reason I’m speaking to you this morning is I want to talk about some events that have transpired recently. And I don’t think any of you are going to be very surprised to hear that I’m not happy, I’m very upset about some conduct we have witnessed — the conduct of some parliamentarians and the conduct of my own office.

We’ve worked hard collectively as a party, as a caucus and as a government to dramatically strengthen accountability rules in Ottawa and to apply those standards to ourselves. I need not remind you that in 2006 this government was first elected to clean up the Liberal sponsorship scandal, to ensure the rules are followed and to ensure there are consequences when they are not. Since that time, we have taken unprecedented measures to achieve that end.

Our Federal Accountability Act, the toughest accountability legislation in the history of this country, forever changed the way business is done in Ottawa. We have strengthened the powers of the Auditor General, toughened the office of the Ethics Commissioner, reformed political party financing, dramatically tightened lobbying rules and beefed up auditing and accountability within government departments.

Canada now has one of the most accountable and transparent systems of governance in the entire world and this is something Canadians are rightly proud of.

It is also something, colleagues, that we can never take for granted because, as I said, in fact as I said in the room across the Hall in the fall of 2005 when we first pledged to bring in the Federal Accountability Act, I said this: “No government will be perfect because none of us are perfect. We cannot dream a system so perfect that no one will have to be good.”

Therefore, just as we continue to toughen rules, we must also uphold a culture of accountability. And I know that the people in this room have. We have reduced our budgets and travel as a government. We are the caucus that finally bit the bullet and reformed the MP pension plan so that we will pay our fair share.

And I know that, like me and my family, you are scrupulous about paying expenses of a personal nature yourselves.

But, that said, let me repeat something else I said in that same speech in 2005 — and let me be very blunt about it.

Anyone – anyone who wants to use public office for their own benefit should make other plans or, better yet, leave this room.

Now, colleagues, let me also address the issue of the Senate. As Canadians know, I did not get into politics to defend the Senate. And it was this party that put Senate reform on the national agenda.

It was this government which has placed before Parliament a bill, opposed by both the Liberals and the NDP, to allow for Senate elections and to put term limits on senators. And in this room our colleagues from the Senate who’ve agreed to sit in the other place in order to support our efforts to achieve fundamental, irreversible reform.

Colleagues, we have heard from Canadians loud and clear. They want us to continue our efforts. They are asking us to accelerate those efforts.

The Senate status quo is not acceptable. Canadians want the Senate to change.

Now, as you know, our Senate reforms have been tied up in Parliament for years. Earlier this year, we asked the Supreme Court of Canada to rule on whether the reforms we have proposed can be accomplished by Parliament acting alone. We’ve also asked the court to rule on options for abolishing the Senate completely.

And, as we prepare to receive and act on the judgment of the Supreme Court, we will also take further steps in the area of Senate expenditure and accountability. Senator LeBreton and I have discussed this and she has my full support to accelerate changes to the Senate’s rules on expenses and close any loopholes in those existing rules and I expect Conservative senators, regardless of what opposition you may face, to get that done in the Senate.

Colleagues, we have an active and important agenda on the issues that matter to hardworking Canadian families and there is much work to be done. When distractions arise, as they inevitably will, we will deal with them firmly.

But we cannot lose sight of our top priority. The world we are in remains a deeply uncertain place.

Canadians are looking to us to protect them — their jobs, their families, their communities. That is what we must be focused on and what we will continue to do: continue to implement our Economic Action Plan, continue to work on expanding trade, continue our focus on jobs, growth and long-term prosperity, and continue to ensure that through all the ups and downs of the world economy there remains no better place to be than this country, Canada. So let’s get back to work.

Microsoft expected to reveal next-generation Xbox

By The Associated Press - Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 9:48 AM - 0 Comments

REMOND, Wash. – Will Xbox mark the spot once again for Microsoft?

The company is set to reveal the next generation of its Xbox entertainment console during a presentation Tuesday at its headquarters in Redmond, Wash.

It’s been eight years since the launch of the Xbox 360. The original Xbox debuted in 2001, and its high-definition successor premiered in 2005.
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Justin Bieber’s pet Monkey ‘belongs to Germany now’

By Emily Senger - Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 9:37 AM - 0 Comments

Instagram

Justin Bieber had four weeks to pick up his pet monkey after it was confiscated by German authorities and his time is up. Mally, as the petite capuchin monkey is named, will now become property of Germany.

Bieber was busted for the monkey after he reportedly tried to sneak the 14-week-old primate into the country on his private jet on March 31. He didn’t have the correct documents to bring the monkey into the country and he has failed to produce those documents by the deadline, meaning Mally now belongs to the state.

“The monkey belongs to Germany now,” Judith Brettmeister, a spokesperson for the shelter that is caring for Mally told Reuters. She said that Bieber has not been in contact with her or the shelter since his monkey was confiscated and that he will not be able to get it back.

However, Bieber does have six weeks to contest the decision in court, should he choose to do so, reports The Associated Press.

At the time Mally was confiscated, the Biebs was on his somewhat troubled Believe tour, which was marked by not only the monkey incident, but also by Bieber collapsing on stage, Bieber offending many with his comments about Anne Frank, a Bieber bus drug bust and, finally, being attacked by a fan on stage.

Will the Duffy scandal stick?

By Nick Taylor-Vaisey - Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 9:05 AM - 0 Comments

Sean Kilpatrick/CP

Amid the wreckage, the Conservatives in Ottawa still must govern. How they do that when two of their own Senators quit caucus late last week, and then their boss’s top aide resigned in the middle of a long weekend, is no easy task. Their headaches, mostly fuelled by the relentless reporting of CTV’s Robert Fife, will pound all week. Aaron Wherry and Paul Wells and John Geddes explain why this will be a long week.

• Related coverage: 12 thoughts on the Duffy scandal 

The Toronto Star calls the current conniption enveloping Ottawa—the Mike Duffy Affair, let’s call it—the “worst scandal” that Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s gang has faced since they took power on the promise of unprecedented transparency and accountability in 2006. In Ottawa, what anyone usually means by scandal is a thing the government has done to piss off its critics. Harper’s scandals have gone mostly unpunished by voters, despite its critics being so routinely pissed off by so many things. Even when Conservatives were found guilty during the “in-and-out” affair  that saw them improperly shuffle money around during the election campaign that brought them to power, John Geddes recalls, the party claimed victory. They were also found in contempt of Parliament, and we all know what real victory they claimed not long after, in May 2011. They’ve always found a way.

But the last week in federal politics would actually have made good television—depending on your tastes, obviously. Maybe that’s the barometer of what counts as real controversy. The Liberals’ demise a few years back, the Sponsorship Scandal, would have kind-of-sort-of made good TV. There was lots of corruption, anyway. So, when Harper stands up to address his caucus this morning, with cameras rolling, we’ll see how he looks on stage.

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Search continues for dead after tornado rips through Moore, Oklahoma

By Emily Senger - Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 8:19 AM - 0 Comments

The Oklahoman, Bryan Terry/AP

Rescue crews are digging through the rubble Tuesday morning after a deadly tornado ripped through Moore, a Oklahoma City suburb, killing dozens.

Reports Tuesday morning said as many as 91 people could have been killed, and at least 233 others had been injured. But later Tuesday, Amy Elliott, the spokeswoman for the Oklahoma City medical examiner, said this number “is no longer accurate.” She said a confirmed 24 people were dead, reports The New York Times.

It is possible that the number of dead could rise, as rescuers comb through the wreckage of destroyed buildings, including two schools and a hospital, which were levelled during the storm.

CNN reported Tuesday morning that 101 people had been pulled from the rubble alive by rescue crews.

• Photos: Scenes of devastation from Moore, Oklahoma

One of the schools destroyed was Plaza Towers Elementary, where local television reports say that a rescue mission had turned into a recovery mission after some children were pulled from the rubble of the school alive.

Reuters reported that seven children at Plaza Towers had been confirmed dead. Children at the school were instructed to remain in the hallway, which collapsed, reported KFOR-TV. Continue…

Spotlight on Apple’s tax strategy as CEO takes hot seat on Capitol Hill

By The Associated Press - Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 8:15 AM - 0 Comments

Jeff Chiu/AP Photo

WASHINGTON – Apple’s CEO is disputing assertions by a Senate panel that the company avoids billions of dollars in U.S. taxes by shifting profits to foreign affiliates.

Tim Cook testified at a hearing Tuesday by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which released a report Monday attacking Apple’s tax practices.

“We pay all the taxes we owe — every single dollar,” Cook said. “We don’t depend on tax gimmicks.”

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Star-Spangled banner singer to return to the ice after whirlwind 48 hours

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 5:51 AM - 0 Comments

Canadian singer Alexis Normand completely butchers the National Anthem at the Memorial Cup (via @awfulannouncing) youtu.be/GKQ0fY3lrEo

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 20, 2013

How bad was it? “Pretty bad,” says Alexis Normand of her mangled rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner on Saturday evening.

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Appointees to EI boards broke guidelines by making political donations

By Steve Rennie, The Canadian Press - Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 5:19 AM - 0 Comments

OTTAWA – Dozens of people appointed to plum patronage jobs have been donating to the Conservative party, despite government rules that forbid it.

A Canadian Press investigation found as many as one of every five chairpersons on the Employment Insurance Boards of Referees gave money to political parties, riding associations and election candidates while they served on the tribunal.

All but one of the dozens of donations went to Conservatives, Election Canada records show. The lone non-Tory donation went to a Liberal riding association in the Toronto area.

Those donations run afoul of guidelines for administrative tribunals, such as the EI referees boards, which hear complaints about EI decisions about issues such as denied benefits and fraud.

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Today at Toronto City Hall: Waiting for word from Ford

By The Canadian Press - Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 5:14 AM - 0 Comments

TORONTO – Toronto city hall will be watched closely today to see if Mayor Rob Ford’s camp responds to allegations that he was recorded on video appearing to smoke crack cocaine.

The mayor’s brother, Councillor Doug Ford, told a Vancouver radio station (CKNW) this weekend that he would respond today to reports regarding the alleged footage.

It’s not known if the mayor himself will be back at work this morning.

The Toronto Star and the U.S.-based website Gawker.com reported the controversial video story last week, stating they had separately viewed the cellphone footage which they claimed appears to show Ford smoking crack.

On Friday, Ford slammed the Toronto Star report on the video as a smear job and called it “ridiculous,” while his lawyer Dennis Morris called the reports “false and defamatory.”

Morris told The Canadian Press on Sunday that he had not received any instructions from Ford about launching legal action against the Star and Gawker, saying the matter was in “pause” until it’s known whether a video will become public.

The media outlets reported the video was shown to them by an alleged drug dealer who has been reportedly trying to sell the video for at least $100,000.

Gawker has been trying to crowdsource $200,000 to buy and publicly post the footage and had raised $84,839 by early Tuesday.

Today on the Hill: PM to address Conservative MPs before departing for South America

By The Canadian Press - Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 5:12 AM - 0 Comments

OTTAWA – The prime minister is jetting out of Ottawa today, leaving behind one of the worst political storms ever faced by his Conservative government, to contemplate a trade alliance membership in South America that many consider unnecessary.

Before he leaves, though, Stephen Harper is expected to address the Conservative caucus and talk about his right-hand man, Nigel Wright, who resigned Sunday as a result of his role in a ballooning controversy involving the disallowed expenses of Sen. Mike Duffy.

Wright wrote Duffy a personal cheque for $90,000 to cover the senator`s improper housing claims, a quiet transaction critics say violates ethics rules prohibiting senators from accepting gifts.

The embattled Duffy quit the Conservative caucus last Thursday. Sen. Pamela Wallin, who is facing her own expenses audit, “recused” herself from caucus on Friday.

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Rob Ford: Where were we?

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 5:00 AM - 0 Comments

UPDATE: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford arrived in council chambers at Toronto City Hall Tuesday morning. The Canadian Press reports that he ignored reporters and their questions as he left his office for a special meeting about a proposed downtown Toronto casino.

Here is a picture of Rob Ford, stone-faced in the elevator, as his staff tried to shut the doors on reporters twitter.com/BenSpurr/statu…

— Ben Spurr (@BenSpurr) May 21, 2013

Earlier reports that Ford was going to hold a press conference at 11 a.m. were not true, said the mayor’s press secretary.

Ford did stand in council to speak against a proposed downtown casino, but he did not address the allegations against him.

Here’s what else we know right now:

1. Toronto Mayor Rob Ford cancelled his regularly scheduled radio program on Sunday afternoon.

2. The mayor’s brother, Doug Ford, talked to Mike Bendixen of CFRB about the drug allegations:

Spoke with Doug Ford, he tells me “I have never seen my brother involved with anything like coke.”#topoli

— Mike Bendixen (@mikebendixen) May 18, 2013

3. While the mayor kept a low profile during the weekend, he appeared to remain active on his Twitter account:

The long weekend is here! Catch a ferry to Toronto Island Park for a scenic picnic. Details here: toronto.ca/parks/island/f… #LongWknd #Topoli

— Mayor Rob Ford (@TOMayorFord) May 17, 2013

Happy Victoria Day #Toronto. Check out@torontoarchives they are now on twitter: ow.ly/l9b8qow.ly/i/28Qja

— Mayor Rob Ford (@TOMayorFord) May 20, 2013

4. Gawker editor John Cook also noted Ford’s presence on Twitter:

twitter.com/johnjcook/stat…

— John Cook (@johnjcook) May 20, 2013

5. Speaking of Gawker, as of Sunday, it had raised $80,000 in a crowd-sourced campaign to raise money to purchase a video alleged to show Ford using crack cocaine.

6. A teen art collective in Toronto has released an enactment of the Ford video. Before playing the tape, the teens urge the mayor to seek treatment should he be suffering from addiction.

7. As the National Post notes, Toronto’s city councillors are calling on Ford to address allegations. Councillor Josh Matlow said the sooner the mayor does so, the sooner Toronto can move forward. “What would be very helpful, as a start, would be if the mayor would be more open about his take on the story and offer his perspective,” he told the Globe and Mail. “That hasn’t happened yet.”

8. In an open letter to Rob Ford, Toronto Star editor Michael Cooke poses a number of questions:

• Do you understand why this damning videotape requires a proper and thoughtful explanation?
• Have you ever smoked crack cocaine?
• How well do you know the men in the photograph that appeared on Friday’s front page? Did you know the man who was subsequently shot dead?
• Did you refer to Justin Trudeau by a homosexual slur?
• Did you refer to your football team as f—— minorities?
• Will you call for a police investigation into these latest allegations

9. Meanwhile, in case you have been at the cottage, the rest of world has discovered Ford.

10. CKNW, a radio station in Vancouver, has reported that Doug Ford is planning to respond to the allegations on Tuesday.

At least 51 dead after devastating tornado flattens suburb of Oklahoma City

By macleans.ca - Monday, May 20, 2013 at 10:36 PM - 0 Comments

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PM due at caucus Tuesday before heading to South America

By The Canadian Press - Monday, May 20, 2013 at 8:46 PM - 0 Comments

OTTAWA – Conservatives gathered Monday night to mourn the passing of a key architect in their rise to power — and to brace for the toughest test Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government has faced since taking office on a promise to clean up politics in the national capital.

A who’s-who of Tories had few words for the handful of assembled journalists at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre, where a memorial service was being held for Conservative senator and party stalwart Doug Finley, who died earlier this month.

Solemn-looking cabinet ministers, senators, aides and strategists declined to speak to reporters about a burgeoning Senate scandal which is likely to receive continued attention this week.

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Apple uses companies outside U.S. to avoid paying billions in U.S. taxes, Senate inquiry finds

By The Associated Press - Monday, May 20, 2013 at 5:57 PM - 0 Comments

WASHINGTON – Apple Inc. employs a group of affiliate companies located outside the United States to avoid paying billions of dollars in U.S. income taxes, a Senate investigation has found.

The world’s most valuable company is holding overseas some $102 billion of its $145 billion in cash, and an Irish subsidiary that earned $22 billion in 2011 paid only $10 million in taxes, according to the report issued Monday by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

The strategies Apple uses are legal, and many other multinational corporations use similar tax techniques to avoid paying U.S. income taxes on profits they reap overseas. But Apple uses a unique twist, the report found. The company’s tactics raise questions about loopholes in the U.S. tax code, lawmakers say.

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Hundreds wait to pay respects to leader who blocked Meech Lake accord

By The Canadian Press - Monday, May 20, 2013 at 4:59 PM - 0 Comments

WINNIPEG – Hundreds of people lined up inside the Manitoba legislature Monday to pay their respects to Elijah Harper, the aboriginal politician whose quiet but firm resistance to the Meech Lake constitutional accord became a symbolic moment for indigenous rights.

“He gave us all inspiration to know that it’s OK to say no sometimes,” Derek Nepinak, grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, said before taking his turn to walk by Harper’s casket.

“I think the legacy that he left will continue to inspire us and keep us on a good path.”

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Driver charged after SUV smashes through restaurant patio, killing toddler

By The Canadian Press - Monday, May 20, 2013 at 4:58 PM - 0 Comments

EDMONTON – Police in Edmonton have laid numerous impaired driving charges after a toddler was killed by an SUV that smashed through a restaurant patio.

Investigators say a family was dining at an outdoor table at a restaurant in southwest Edmonton on Sunday evening when an Acura MDX crashed into them, pinning a two-year-old boy to a wall.

Paramedics rushed the child, along with his family, to hospital where the two-year-old boy died.

His father suffered rib and back injuries, and his mother and one-year-old sibling suffered minor injuries.

Police arrested a 62-year-old man at the scene.

Richard Suter faces charges of impaired operation causing death, refusing to provide a breath sample and two counts of impaired operation causing bodily harm.

He is being held in custody until his first court appearance on Tuesday morning.

Canadians invited to weigh in on wind turbine proposal for Juno Beach

By The Canadian Press - Monday, May 20, 2013 at 12:33 PM - 0 Comments

TORONTO – For decades visitors to the D-Day beaches on the northwest coast of France have looked out at the English Channel, taking in the journey made by Allied troops that marked a turning point in the Second World War.

The view from some of those sites — including Juno Beach where 359 Canadians died — could soon change if a plan succeeds to build an army of wind turbines some 10 kilometres offshore.

Canadians now have a chance to voice their opinions on that plan as a French commission holds public consultations on the project.

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Militias attack gas complex in western Libya

By The Associated Press - Monday, May 20, 2013 at 12:02 PM - 0 Comments

TRIPOLI, Libya – A Libyan gas company official says militiamen have attacked a natural gas complex in the country’s west, injuring two guards and stealing weapons and military vehicles.

The official says the attack took place early Monday and targeted the Mellitah Oil and Gas complex near Zwara, about 110 kilometres (70 miles) from the capital, Tripoli. The complex is a joint venture between Libya’s National Oil Corp. and Italy’s largest energy company, Eni SpA. The militiamen fled the site briefly after seizing weapons and equipment from the guards.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters.

A military official told Libya’s official news agency that military helicopters are searching for the attackers.

Over a year after toppling Moammar Gadhafi’s regime, Libya is plagued by lawlessness.