American soldiers who refuse to serve in Iraq have sought asylum in Canada. In Toronto, the ‘war resisters’ are welcomed with open arms. The city has a proud history as a haven for conscientious objectors going back to the Vietnam War. “Canadians are ready to support us.”
In parts of Canada, Muslims can resolve disputes according to Sharia, Islamic law. According to Adrienne Clarkson, acting head of state of the country, Europe tends to be too tense in dealing with immigrants. “We understand what it’s like to be a loser.”
Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities in the world. Diversity is celebrated in the Canadian metropolis. “You live and work with so many nationalities here that to be Canadian is to be global.”
The family business of Harry Voortman is one of the largest independent cookie makers in Canada. The well-known cookies of the Dutch immigrant are sold across the country. Now, Voortman is a leader in North America in removing trans fats from its products, positioning the cookies as a healthy alternative.
Canada is experimenting with arbitration under Sharia, or Islamic law. It’s the answer of Canadian Muslims to an overburdened justice system. But critics say it should have no place in Canada, calling the initiative an abuse of the Canadian model of multiculturalism.
Members of the indigenous Haida population are reclaiming human remains of their ancestors from museums in North America. They bring the remains home to give their ancestors proper burials. “The way other people have treated us was totally disrespectful.”
Abandoned ghost towns with weathered totem poles are a prize sight of Haida Gwaii, the dagger-shaped archipelago off Canada’s Pacific Northwest coast. The UNESCO world heritage site beckons adventurous travellers. But beware of adverse weather conditions.
Unlike most other Western countries, Canada wants to bring in more immigrants – but not just to the country’s metropolitan centres. Canada’s Minister of Immigration proposes to send newcomers to smaller towns, to meet regional labour market needs.
Canada is about to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Ever since the unilateral rejection of the climate treaty by the Bush administration, Canada is in a tough spot, says Environment Minister David Anderson. “Kyoto is very uneven, but it’s a start, and at the moment it’s the best we […]
Canada is home to one of the largest oil reserves in the world, the Alberta oil sands. Extracting oil from the vast resource is tricky, costly and hard on the environment. Still, oil majors are investing billions of dollars in the tar sands, as exploitation “now makes economic sense.”
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