Freestyle skier Sarah Burke successfully campaigned to bring her sport to the Winter Olympics. Her death from injuries sustained in a training accident has revived a debate about the safety of the extreme sport of superpipe.
Shell sees great potential in oil drilling off the north coast of Alaska. The energy company has invested billions of dollars in plans to search for oil in the region. But the permit process is taking years. Opponents fearing an oil spill in the ecologically fragile Arctic fight each permit.
North America’s only safe injection site for drug addicts will remain open. The Canadian government wanted to close Vancouver’s Insite clinic, where addicts can inject under medical supervision. But the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled the government must consider the initiative’s benefits. “The clinic saves lives and improves public order.”
A historic bank building in downtown Toronto is home to the Hockey Hall of Fame, an extensive museum about the national sport of Canada. To many Canadians, a visit to the ‘Cathedral of Hockey’ should be part of the education of every child.
Montreal’s Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve has long been the scene of the sole Formula One race in North America. But now it is getting competition. A brand new F1 circuit is under construction in Austin, Texas. Will American fans get excited about a new race in the United States?
In Texas and other U.S. states, opposition is growing against a proposed pipeline to transport heavy crude oil from the Canadian tar sands to refineries along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Proponents of the Keystone XL project see economic growth, critics fear an oil spill and warn of pollution.
Drug cartels in Mexico carry out their bloody battles with weapons from the United States. The U.S. now wants to stem the ‘iron river’ flowing south. Gun sellers in border states are required to report it when a customer purchases multiple semi-automatic rifles. Critics along the border say the measure comes too late.
Research in Motion, the BlackBerry maker that introduced mobile e-mail, is struggling. Global demand for smartphones is growing, but RIM’s market share is in decline. Investors and analysts are wondering if BlackBerry’s best days are behind it.
Canada is resisting efforts to curb international trade in asbestos, the building material that can cause cancer. The country, which prohibits its use, wants to continue to export the material to developing countries where it is still allowed. In the mining town of Asbestos, people are hoping for a revival of good times.
Education is crucial for the reconstruction of Haiti, says Michaëlle Jean, UNESCO Special Envoy for Haiti. In her new role, the former Governor-General of Canada is “carrying out a crusade” for her country of birth, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere that was hit by a devastating earthquake in 2010.
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