Reading Time: 3 minutesSemi-annual general meeting held just outside Ottawa OTTAWA (CUP)—THE CANADIAN FEDERATION of Students (CFS) celebrated its 30-year anniversary last week at its 60th semi-annual national general meeting held just outside of Ottawa. Nearly 250 delegates convened Nov. 22–25 in Gatineau, Que. to discuss student issues and offer solutions. Feb. 1, à la rue! Campaigns, budgets, and executive reports were …
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Reading Time: 2 minutesNext stop SINCE THE HARPER government claimed a majority on May 2, rumours about defunding the CBC began floating around. The national broadcaster has also taken heat from Quebecor, a Montreal-based news company, who filed freedom of information requests over the course of the past three years. The requested documents could reveal CBC’s sources, compromising …
Reading Time: 2 minutesCity hall graded on green initiatives ON NOV. 23, Ecology Ottawa, a local non-profit organization that advocates for sustainability, released their Council Watch report card, grading the city’s councillors and mayor on their green initiatives. The report was started by local organizations, like the Sierra Club of Canada-Ottawa Group, the Greenspace Alliance of Canada’s Capital, and the Coalition for a …
Reading Time: 3 minutesGreen Engineers develop new design for wind turbines GREEN ENGINEERS, A club for professors and students, has been developing an innovative wind turbine over the past three years. The invention, already published in academic journals, features two sets of blades to increase efficiency and decrease noise—problems associated with current versions of wind turbines. “We are building a source of energy,” said Riadh …
Reading Time: 2 minutesNext stop WHAT IS IT with the U-Pass? Since its inception in September 2010, it has endured an impressive amount of complaints from students and OC Transpo staff alike. First it was the pricing, then the lack of an opt-out option, and now the $70 price increase. Is it time to rethink the program altogether, …
Reading Time: 2 minutesCity urges youth to get tested THIS MONTH, THE City of Ottawa released a report on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the city, citing gonorrhea and chlamydia as the most common infections among 20- to 24-year-olds. Christiane Bouchard, a project officer with the Healthy Sexuality and Risk Reduction unit of Ottawa Public Health, said one of the problems with the two STIs is the lack of symptoms in 70 per cent of the cases. “You can have them and not know it, which means you can spread them more …
Reading Time: 3 minutesOntario university considers teaching students one course at a time TORONTO (CUP)—ALGOMA UNIVERSITY IN Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. is considering the switch to a “block plan” that would allow students to study courses one at a time instead of the usual four or five courses per semester. “You spend 15 hours per week on a …
Reading Time: < 1 minuteWhat the F?! A MOUNTAIN IN South Carolina made from roughly 250,000 tires covers more than 50 acres on satellite images and can be seen from space. Authorities have no idea how the tires ended up there, but this isn’t the first time the man-made mountain has sprung up, said David Summers, Calhoun County council …
Reading Time: 2 minutesResearch shows omnibus crime bill is in need of amendments ON SEPT. 20, the House of Commons heard the first reading of Bill C-10, an omnibus crime bill known as the Safe Streets and Communities Act presented by the Conservative government. The act, which has received criticism in the House of Commons and from experts in the field, the provinces, and the public, consists of nine bills seeking harsher sentencing for criminal offenders in an effort to lower the crime rate in Canada. Experts in crime reduction don’t think the bill will have the expected impact on the crime rate, which, according to a report by Statistics Canada, is at an all-time low. Irvin Waller, criminology professor at the University of Ottawa, explained a focus on prevention, not punishment, is needed to reduce crime rates. …
Reading Time: 3 minutesExperts question the impact of the initiative IN THE SPRING of 2011, community members came together to form Fair Trade Ottawa, a group dedicated to achieving fair-trade status for the city. The status, designated by Fairtrade Canada, has been awarded to 15 cities across Canada and about 20 more, including Ottawa, are pursuing it. “We started in early spring with a …
Reading Time: 2 minutes Protesters stay in park past set deadline ON NOV. 21, Occupy Ottawa protesters received an eviction notice from the National Capital Commission (NCC) requesting the group vacate Confederation Park by 11:59 p.m. that night. Although the encampment has shrunk after receiving the notice, not all tenants have complied with the NCC’s request, some barricading the fountain in …
Reading Time: 2 minutesSFUO collaborates with administration FROM NOV. 14 to 18, the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) conducted a week-long survey on student life on campus. SFUO representatives, volunteers, and board members collected student opinions to find out where there’s room for improvement. Amalia Savva, SFUO president, said the federation created the 10-question survey in an effort …
Reading Time: 2 minutesThree sides disagree on costs and effectiveness of pass DISAGREEMENTS WERE SPARKED between the City of Ottawa, students, and citizens when Charlie Taylor, mayoral candidate in the past municipal election and recent Carleton University graduate, declared the numbers determining the new cost of the U-Pass don’t add up. Taylor presented the data he collected to the city’s transit commission on Nov. 16, intensifying the discussion between the universities’ student unions and the city. “Basically, [the city’s transit report] is a propaganda document being put forward to try to frame [the report] in a positive light,” said Taylor, who thinks the program costs more than students are paying. “Every page of the report is flawed. It is either seriously poor scholarship or deliberate misrepresentation.” According to …
Reading Time: 2 minutesGSAÉD’s finance commissioner resigns AFTER NEARLY TWO years with the University of Ottawa’s Graduate Students’ Association (GSAÉD), Patrick Imbeau announced he will resign his post of the finance commissioner on Nov. 15. Since beginning his employment with GSAÉD in December 2009, Imbeau has worked as the association’s university affairs commissioner, external commissioner, and most recently, …
Reading Time: 3 minutesphoto by Sean Done An in-depth look at the newly designated space OTTAWA’S GAY VILLAGE on Bank Street is now officially recognized. Six white signs with the words “the village” and a rainbow insignia were installed at the intersections of Bank and Nepean, Somerset, and Frank streets last week. The Bank Street Business Improvement Area …
Reading Time: 2 minutesNext Stop HOW EASY IS it to keep governments accountable? Throughout history, journalists, activists, and sometimes even politicians kept governments from power tripping by broadcasting their own mes- sages to the public. Our generation needs a voice, too. Now that Stephen Harper achieved his long sought-after majority, he’s pushed his agenda through at impressive speeds, …
Reading Time: 4 minutesMichaelle Jean wants to be a chancellor that’s there for students ON NOV. 7, the University of Ottawa announced Michaelle Jean, former Governor General of Canada, would be the university’s new chancellor. She replaces Huguette Labelle, who held the position for almost 18 years. A chancellor’s job description The University of Ottawa’s chancellor is the …
Reading Time: 3 minutes Let’s talk about consent, baby NOV. 14–18 MARKS the second annual Consent is Sexy Week hosted by the Women’s Resource Centre (WRC) at the University of Ottawa. The campaign focuses primarily on creating a dialogue around consent and sex positivity in an effort to prevent sexual violence on and around campus. “Opening up the …
Reading Time: 2 minutesSt-Amour told to go through different channels AT THE BOARD of Administration (BOA) meeting on Nov. 12, Sébastien St-Amour, a fifth-year political science student at the U of O, proposed changes to the Student Federation of the Univer- sity of Ottawa (SFUO) election process. Although St-Amour was interrupted before finishing, he is determined to have …
Reading Time: 3 minutesFood bank use in Canada increases by 26 per cent since 2008 OTTAWA (CUP)—HUNGERCOUNT, AN ANNUAL study of food banks and food programs in Canada, estimates an average of 851,000 individuals were assisted by food banks each month in 2011, four per cent of whom were post-secondary students. Since 2008, food bank use in Canada …
Reading Time: 2 minutesOPH aims to educate youth about tanning ON NOV. 8, Ottawa Public Heath (OPH) launched the Enjoy the Skin You’re In social media campaign, in partnership with the Canadian Cancer Society, Cancer Care Ontario, and three local health units, that aims to raise aware- ness among youth about the risks of tanning. “We would like …
Reading Time: 2 minutesWhat’s he building in there? The problem THE WORLD IS in need of green energy solutions. Wind, solar, and geothermal are some of the energy-gathering meth- ods capturing researchers’ imaginations as alternative energy sources. Harnessing power from nature depends on geographic location. Solar is the best bet for Spain, while wind might be better for …
Reading Time: 3 minutesUniversity of Manitoba president apologizes WINNIPEG (CUP)—UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA president David Barnard made history on Oct. 27 by issuing an apology for the university’s indirect role in the residential schools system before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Halifax. Barnard is the first university president to formally apologize for perpetuating the system. His emotional words …
Reading Time: < 1 minute‘Tampon tossers’ REBECCA CRIMMINS, AN aspiring Australian model, and several co-workers were picking up McDonald’s from the drive-thru when Crimmins decided to play a joke on the attendant, earning her a criminal record. After asking, “Oh, what’s this on my fries?” Crimmins took a wet tampon dipped in lime cordial mix and dabbed it on …
Reading Time: 2 minutesPieing lupus in the face SIGMA PSI ALPHA (SPA), a sorority based in Ottawa, has set Nov. 27 as the date when students, friends, and community members can pie sisters in the face to raise money for the Lupus Foundation of Ontario (LFO). The sorority supports the LFO and brings awareness to the common disease, all because of a …
