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CJLO News - April 3 2013
Hosted by: Carlo Spiridigliozzi
Stories by: Saturn De Los Angeles, Niki Mohrdar & Aisha Samu
Produced by: Spoon Jung
Metro shuts down during evening rush hour
Did you have trouble going anywhere between six and seven, last night?
Chances were, you’re not the only one.
The Montreal Metro was suddenly shut-down for an hour, due to a computer glitch, according to the C-B-C.
Shuttle buses outside the stations were out to help stranded passengers get around town.
S-T-M president Michel Labrecque (ME-SHELL, LA-BREK) spoke with Radio-Canada.
He explains that the S-T-M has been slowly upgrading the metro's operating facilities since last year.
They have been trying to catch the glitches that force the metro to suddenly stop.
With the last shutdown three weeks ago, over a thousand unplanned interruptions were recorded last year.
Half of those were caused by passengers, according to an internal S-T-M report.
Flickr Photo by: (Guerrilla Futures | Jason Tester}
STORY WRITTEN BY: SATURN DE LOS ANGELES
Sudan frees political prisoners, pledges for truce
Over in Sudan, a movement towards a truce between political prisoners and authorities is in progress.
The Sudanese government released seven detainees under presidential amnesty on Tuesday.
The move follows Omar al-Bashir's pledge to make amends with border rebels and with South Sudan.
An Al Jazeera report explains that the Sudanese president has renewed commitment to speak with all political powers.
(He declared this during the first session of its parliament on Monday.)*
Sudanese law enforcers arrested three members of the government's opposition after dispersing a rally last week.
Those arrested were demanding for the release of their six colleagues also detained for being linked to a plan to topple al-Bashir’s regime.
Since February, Sudan has been facing pressure from U-S based organization Human Rights Watch to release the political prisoners.
Flickr Photo by: GovernmentZA
STORY WRITTEN BY: SATURN DE LOS ANGELES
Higher rates of discipline for minority students in Portland echoes national trend
Minority students are suspended at higher rates than white students according to statistics from public schools in Portland, Oregon.
The Oregonian reports African American students were four times more likely to be suspended or expelled than white students.
American Indian students and Latino students were also disciplined at higher rates while Asian students recorded lower rates.
The results echo a broader trend in the U.S. that civil rights advocates say contributes to the achievement gap.
The U.S. Department of Education recently launched an investigation into the discipline rates of black students in Seattle schools.
District officials say tracking the data will help curb suspensions and expulsions by altering practices to prevent racial disparities.
The District is promoting its Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports program in thirty-six schools.
The program focuses on rewarding good behaviour rather than concentrating on strict forms of discipline.
STORY WRITTEN BY: AISHA SAMU
TransCanada looking for interest in pipeline project
By: Burnerfire
According to the Montreal Gazette, TransCanada Corp is trying to find out whether or not there is interest in their pipeline proposal.
The proposal's current aim is to ship oil from Alberta to New Brunswick. This would replace the current existing natural has pipeline.
TransCanada is asking for firm commitment from parties that are interested in the project.
Oil would be transported next to an already existing pipeline that extends into Quebec and possibly Saint John, New Brunswick.
If the project were to be established, crude oil transportation would take the place of an already established natural gas pipeline.
The project would also involve a 1,400 kilometer extension into Saint John.
Joe Oliver, the Minister of Federal Natural Resources is interred in the project, stating that the government supports the opportunity to process more Canadian oil.
Oliver believes that the project will create more Canadian jobs, and make the country less reliant on foreign providers.
TransCanada has stated that they will not file the necessary regulatory applications until enough interest is shown over the next two months.
The Calgary-based company is also hoping for a binding agreement to gain delivery points in Montreal, Quebec City and Saint John.
They hope that by the end of 2017, the project can begin shipping roughly 850, 000 barrels of oil every day.
Enbridge Inc. has also proposed a project that aims to transport oil from the west to the east coast of Canada.
Their project seeks to expand the capacity of a few pipelines in the Great Lake Region. It also seeks to reverse the flow of yet another pipeline between Montreal as Southern Ontario.
Although supporters believe that these projects would make Eastern Canada less reliant on imported oils, critics have pointed out that it poses the potential for oil spills.
Without the establishment of either project, over 600,000 barrels of oil were supplied to Eastern refineries every day in 2012.
CJLO News - April 2 2013
Hosted by: Gabrielle Fahmy
Stories by: Nikita Smith, Jenna Monney-Lupert and Gregory Wilson
Produced by: Brendan Adams
SCPA wants to join ASSÉ student union group
The School of Community and Public Affairs may be Concordia’s first Anglophone undergraduate student association to join the Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante if their membership is approved by ASSÉ in April.
According to The Link, from the 38 percent of students that voted in the SCPA’s general elections last week, 71 percent were in favour of joining ASSÉ.
Executive secretary Anthony Garoufalis-Auger stated that the policy research SCPA students do for their classes could be of use in ASSÉ.
While McGill’s Art History and Communication Studies Graduate Student Association is the currently the only Anglophone member of ASSÉ, ASSÉ has been accused of discrimination towards non-francophone students. The SCPA association believes they can help ASSÉ change that image.
The CSU ended their relationship with ASSÉ in 2004 when they voted at a by-election to stop paying membership fees to the activist group.
STORY WRITTEN BY: NIKITA SMITH
Prisoners protest conditions at Guantanamo
Lack of drinking water and extremely cold temperatures are the latest efforts being used by prison guards to force prisoners to end their hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay.
According to a report by Rabble.ca, the strikers’ lawyers have filed an emergency motion in federal court in Washington in response to the treatment of prisoners’ by the guards.
Their lawyers stated that the lack of drinking water has caused additional health risks along those that go with a hunger strike, including kidneys, urinary and stomach problems.
The International Red Cross started an investigation into the treatment of the prisoners’ during the strike at the U.S. prison based in Cuba, and have blamed the lack of a legal framework at Guantanamo as the major cause for the strike.
STORY WRITTEN BY: NIKITA SMITH
Job hunting for domestic work, not easy for New Brunswick miners
New Brunswick mine workers discovered finding new jobs close to home is no easy task.
According to CBC, a new job training centre opened to help the mine employees find a new job. About 1000 people will be unemployed by the time the mine closes on May 10.
Some of the workers believe they will have to leave the province to find work. Ken Smith, one of the former workers, will fly all the way to Alberta for a job interview.
The Brunswick Mine announced it would close last year after operating for close to 50 years. They said there were shutting down because there was nothing left to mine.
Flickr Photo by: ines saraiva
STORY WRITTEN BY: GREGORY WILSON
Demilitarize McGill reveals military research on McGill websites
The McGill University student campaign, known as Demilitarize McGill, claims that the links on their new website exposes the university’s involvement in military research and weapon development.
According the Montreal Gazette, this is something that McGill has been denying for a while.
Matters escalated when the university decided earlier this year to block access to information requests from students by filing a motion with the Access to Information Commission.
McGill says the requests have become abusive because the scope of information requested is unreasonable and the university doesn’t have the resources to process them.
Access to information requests pertaining to the issue have jumped to 170 in 2012 compared to 37 in 2011.
Students say they are rightfully seeking information to better understand McGill’s ties to activities like military research and mining investments.
The case will be heard beginning this Wednesday.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about problems regarding Canada’s access to information requests.
According to the Access to Information Act, the law requires a response within 30 days, yet many requests have exceeded that time limit, some taking as a long as four months.
Macleans Magazine reports Canada is currently ranked 55th out of 98 countries in the world for upholding freedom of information.
Flickr Photo by: TMAB2003
STORY WRITTEN BY: JENNA MONNEY-LUPERT
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