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Drought has major impact on North America
The area in the U.S. suffering from record drought increased slightly over the past week.
In a report by CBC News, the record breaking heat and drought continues in the Southern and central United States.
The drought is very sporatic in Canada though. Southwest Manitoba and the area west of Ottawa have been unseasonably dry.
The impact on agriculture and food varies from the drought. What crops have increased in prices and Livestock have been impacted. However, rice and cotton seem to be in excellent condition.
The eastern half of the U.S. midwest did get some relief from the dry conditions. Another week of rain has led to steadily improving conditions.
Flickr Photo by: Schilling 2
Nadeau-Dubois's departure from CLASSE
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, the co-spokesperson of the most agressive Quebec student association called CLASSE has decided to resign.
According to CBC News Nadeau-Dubois has stated that it's time for CLASSE to be run by a fresh face.
He has also announced that he has no intention of running for leader of any political party.
He has adivised the striking students to not be discouraged by his resignation and has encouraged them to continue striking.
Charest gives $100 to schoolchildren
Quebec Liberal premier Jean Charest switched the focus of his campaign from jobs to education, on Monday.
The Gazette says he promised a hundred dollars for every child in public primary school to help families buy school supplies.
He said the forty-five million dollar assistance will ease the financial pressure of back-to-school season.
The premier also said he would double the budget to forty million from twenty million for the Homework Assistance Program in Elementary School.
The aim of this boost, said Charest, is to help students pass exams by providing them with the right methodologies for studying.
At the morning news conference, Charest deflected questions about a new Léger Marketing poll that shows seventy per cent of Quebecers feel the ruling Liberals are corrupt.
A week into his campaign, Charest said he was suspicious of the polls, and did not mention new plans to fight collusion in the construction industry.
He did however take advantage of a stop in Lac Mégantic to launch fresh attacks on Pauline Marois.
He was also shifty about the candidacy of Jacques Duchesneau for the Coalition Avenir Quebec party.
CAQ promises tax cuts
The CAQ's Francois Legault said that Quebec families are over-taxed.
In a report by CBC News, the CAQ vowed to eliminate the $200 health service tax and to cut taxes to middle class families if elected to power.
At the end of 5 years, a family earning a combined salary of up to $100 000 would pay $1000 less in provincial taxes. The cut would cost the government $1.8 billion in lost revenue.
Both the PQ and the Liberals attacked the promise. They expressed concern over where the lost revenue would come from.
The Liberals meanwhile have promised to cover 20 percent of "green" home improvement projects, up to $3000 on a $16 000 renovation bill.
August 8th, 2012
Read and Produced by: Carlo Spiridigliozzi
Stories by: Carlo Spiridigliozzi, Alyssa Tremblay and Niki Mohrdar
Canadians take action against the Sahel food crisis
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.
News August 6th 2012
Hosted by Aisha Samu
Produced by Erica Bridgeman
Writres: Aisha Samu and Carlo Spiridigliozzi and Niki Mohrdar
Shooting rampage claims 7 lives
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.
Jacques Duchesneau joins the CAQ
Anti-corruption whistleblower Jacques Duchesneau is the newest candidate for the Coalition Avenir Québec, reports CBC news.
He stated a need to fight corruption from the inside in his reason for participating in the political scene.
Duchesneau will be running in the riding of St-Jerôme, where he currently lives.
The former Montreal Police Chief is most noted for leaking a report on corruption and collusion in the construction industry. His profile in Quebec increased after he testified at the Charbonneau Comission on corruption.
Duchesneau called the timing of the election call disgraceful. He believes that people should know what the Charbonneau Comission plans to reveal before heading to the polls.
Acquiring Duchesneau increases the credibility of the young party intent on making the fight against corruption an important issue.
A vote to change the student strike in Quebec
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.
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