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Canada’s federal government will now match each dollar donated by Canadians to aid the food crisis that is currently threatening lives in West Africa’s Sahel region. They hope to donate a kickstart amount of $10 million to the Sahel Crisis Matching Fund.

All donations will be matched by September 30.

Funds will then be sent out by the Canadian International Development Agency. Areas that will be aided include Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania, Sengal, Gambia and northern Cameroon.

CIDA’s minister, Julian Fantino believes that Canadians have always shown that they are willing to help those in need and therefore believes we can reach our goal.

According to CBC, $47.5 million has already been given to World Vision Canada, the World Food Programme, and the Humanitarian Coalition, which includes Oxfam, Oxfam Quebec Care Canada, Plan Canada and Save the Children.

These groups believe that the federal governments new fund will be able to raise awareness about the crisis that is currently affecting roughly 18 million men, women and children suffering from hunger and severe malnutrition.

Robert Fox, Oxfam Canada’s executive director, believes that these funds will help ensure not only immediate life-saving assistance but also crucial investments in farming and herding. This will allow people to prosper even after our assistance

Fox believes that with Canadians’ generous donations and the government match, we can do our part to break the cycle of hunger in Sahel. 

The current crisis in Sahel is said to be caused by a combination of erratic rains, poor harvests and drought. 

A shooting rampage at a Sikh temple claimed 7 lives including the shooter’s on Sunday in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

According to CNN, the FBI will investigate the shooting as a domestic terrorist case. Three people were wounded including a police officer.

The attack occurred when temple members were reading scriptures and cooking food in preparation for the Sunday service and community lunch.

Initial reports believed that were multiple shooters involved, but police did not find any evidence to support that claim.

Police have not found a motive for the shooting. Witnesses describe the shooter as a bald white male with a 9/11 tattoo.

Quebec’s student strikers will now be facing a crucial moment as they decide whether or not to return to classes in the fall. The strike, which has been occurring since spring, has made it into international news.

Starting Tuesday, Students in the CLASSE association will vote over a nine-day period about whether or not to head back to class when it reopens mid-month. These votes will mark the end of this six-month battle of students fighting against tuition hikes.

Students now have a tough choice to make: to end their battle or continue it and risk the re-election of the Charest government? Students know that their choice will have a major impact on the upcoming election.

The idea has been proposed to hold a five-week break from the strike, however it was rejected.

The tuition increase of $1,778 over the next seven years does have some support from the public as they have decided to make it the focus for their reelection campaign

Currently a third of Quebec’s students are on strike.

PQ candidate Leo Bureau-Blouin is calling for a truce in the tuition dispute during the current provincial election campaign.

In a report by CBC News, the former FECQ leader said the truce would not silence the movement but would ensure a proper election campaign leading up to September 4th.

The PQ has stated that Liberals are using the tuition protest to “mask their record so far in the National Assembly.” After a relatively quiet summer supporters of the tuition movement demonstrated in downtown Montreal last Wednesday night leading to more than a dozen arrests.

Pauline Marois has said that if the PQ is elected into power, she would eliminate the scheduled tuition increases and cancel the controversial Bill 78.