Maple Leafs Talk | All things Canadian, from northern travel to hockey news

Metro Shooting has Left Plenty Concerned

Police Officers Severely Injured, Station Closed

There was recently a shooting in the Bonaventure metro station, which ended with an officer stabbed and a man fatally shot. According to an article in the Vancouver Sun the shooting, which followed several verbal orders by two cops for a man to “stop” and to “get down,” occurred about 1:30 p.m. near the downtown turnstiles and ticket booths.

Friday’s case is going to be investigated by the entire police force, as is protocol with any police shooting that results in death or serious injury. Quebec provincial police took over the investigation within two hours and Sgt. Daniel Thibaudeau confirmed the man’s death at 6 p.m. The man who was shot did not have any identification on him and Thibaudeau said that he didn’t know why the officers had been following him.

It appears that there was an altercation where the suspect attacked one of the officers with an edged weapon and injured the other officer in the upper body. One of the officers opened fire and then the suspect was injured, as well.

The officer was then treated for cuts to his face and arm and the second officer ended up being hospitalized and treated for shock. Descriptions of the suspect were conflicting but they said that he was in his 20s but the man who was pursued by the cops was in his 50s.

The Bonaventure metro station is known as a transit hub linking subway riders, bus users and regional rail commuters. It’s known that about 7.4 million people annually pass through this station and that it’s the fifth-most used station. Obviously this is having a devastating effect on commuters, who are finding themselves now afraid when traveling throughout their days, however, everything is being done to have this resolved as quickly as possible to put everyone at ease.

B.C Students are now Being Grouped by Ability

Instead of Age

There has been a recent education experiment in the B.C. school system where they are grouping students by ability rather than by age. This is to promote personalized learning but not at the expense of basic skills. It works to eliminate standardized test and provide more frequent reports to parents about student progress.

This idea has been submitted to the Education Ministry after making a public appeal for suggestions about how schools can be remodeled for the 21^st century. This is a big movement toward citizen engagement and the Ministry is still looking for comments in association with this new movement.

According to an article in the Vancouver Times, the experiment began in late October when Education Minister George Abbott announced a government plan for education renewal that would include an emphasis on personalized learning, critical thinking and teaching quality. Before developing policies, he said that he wanted to hear recommendations from educators, parents, students and others.

There have been efforts to encourage discussions made by the ministry, where they have posted several questions on a website that was just recently created. It invites members of the public to make submissions on what they think needs to be changed for students and how students, teachers and parents can help facilitate the changes. To date, there have been more than 1,000 comments submitted. These include calls for more education, funding and smaller classes, discussions about teacher professional development, concerns about the cost of technology and complaints about sour relations between the ministry and the B.C. Teacher’s federation.

Young Aspiring Doctor and Actress Killed

The Story of Maple Batalia

In late September, Simon Fraser University student and aspiring actress, Maple Batalia, 19, was murdered in Surrey. Police now have seized a vehicle that may be linked to the murder of this young girl, whose family has begun fundraising for a bursary in memory of her.

There is nothing being said currently about the vehicle since the investigation is still ongoing. Police are looking for anyone who has seen the vehicle, before, during or afterward. According to the pound, the car is a 2011 white Dodge Charger.

Police mentioned earlier in the investigation that there was a white Dodge Chrager that had been seen driving away from the scene of the crime and it was believed to be the suspect’s vehicle.

In a surveillance video that was released recently by IHIT, two casually dressed men are seen walking into a building and police are looking to question them since they might have information about the night that Batalia was murdered.

Batalia was gunned down on Sept. 28^th at about 1 a.m. in a parking lot beside SFU’s Surrey campus. The health sciences student, actress and model had spent the evening inside, studying.

The family has currently kick-started a fundraising effort in Batalia’s memory making an initial donation of $10,000 for a bursary for women intending to study Health Sciences at SFU. It was always a dream of Batalia to become a doctor.

It is encouraged by the Vancouver Sun to contact the IHIT tip line at 1-877-551-4448 or email ihittipline@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.

For anyone who wishes to remain anonymous, you can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Barefoot Bandit Finally Admits to 33 Charges

Some See him as a Hero, Others Afraid

On Friday, Colton Harris-Moore, 20,. from Camano Island, Washington, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for 33 felony charges that stemmed from his two-year crime spree in Island, San Juan and Snohomish counties.

Harris-Moore’s childhood was only a little better than a dog’s since he lived with an abusive and alcoholic mother. Although this doesn’t justify his crimes, it should be taken into account according to Judge Vickie Churchill. Still, she decided on a sentence with a standard range because she must be accountable to the public, which suffered a loss of security and freedom out of fear.

Prosecutors had painted a picture of some criminal mastermind who taught himself to fly stolen planes and set up his burglary victims to become repeat targets of future crimes. In his defense, documents presented by the defense dealt with Harris-Moore’s upbringing. Harris-Moore has been seen as a fleeing hero to some and a demonstration of the triumph of the human spirit instead of following in the drug addicted, alcoholic, and abusive steps of his mother.

Earlier during the day on Friday, Harris-Moore pleaded guilty to 32 charges that ranged from identity theft to burglary. Harris-Moore became known as the “Barefoot Bandit” since he was reportedly committing crimes barefoot.

Harris-Moore had been offered a copious amount of money to reveal his story, however when he pleaded guilty, he forfeited his ability to profit from the rights of it. He signed a movie deal with 20^th Century Fox earmarking $1.3 million in proceeds as restitution to his victims.

In Canada it's Necessary to Follow the Rules...

Especially when it Comes to Citizenship

Canada ought to be spending as much time processing legitimate claims for citizenship as it does cracking down on alleged fraudsters, which was recently argued. Amid the news, the government had moved to strip as many as 6,500 people of their citizenship or permanent resident status.

The government has been acting on evidence that some 2,100 people had obtained citizenship through fraudulent means, while another 4,400 permanent residents were flagged for failing to meet strict residency requirements.

The government is applying the full strength of the Canadian law. When there is evidence, they will seek revocation of permanent resident status or citizenship. This will lead to the deportation of anyone who is perpetrating such fraud.

According to the Citizenship and Immigration Department, to maintain permanent resident status, a person must reside in Canada for at least two years within a five-year period. Permanent residents seeking citizenship must show proof that they’ve lived in Canada for at least three of the last four years before applying.

Opposition critics are applauding the efforts to make sure that those who are deliberately cheating the system are removed; however, they have some concerns that are arising with the government’s approach.

It has also been mentioned that in regard to major decisions, such as revoking thousands of citizenships, that it be discussed through Parliament first. Some of the time, those citizens who could be losing their residency have no idea that they have done anything wrong, but instead have had crooked consultants. It needs to be made certain that those who have their citizenship revoked are deliberately cheating the system.

Where you Live and Your Health?

Are 100 Percent Related According to Recent Study

It has been said for a long time that where you live can have an effect on your overall health. This issue is being brought again to the forefront of discussion about how the nation looks at health care.

In a recent study conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, racial disparities normally associated with hypertension, diabetes and obesity, weren’t as strong when taking into account where people actually live.

Researchers looked at racially integrated, working-class neighborhoods and found that both blacks and whites have similar health outcomes. These outcomes from these neighborhoods were then compared to national health surveys. It has been proven that blacks are more likely to suffer from hypertension, however, when looking at these neighborhoods, specifically Baltimore, the disparity declined by 29 percent.

The researchers attributed the difference to whites in the neighborhood having higher rates of disease than whites on average nationwide. When people live in a similar type of environment, they tend to have similar health outcomes.

In another social experiment started by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the 1990s, is now also showing evidence that women had a lower risk for diabetes and extreme obesity when they moved to better neighborhoods. The study, which was published last month in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that the longer people lived in a lower-poverty neighborhood, the more their body mass index and diabetes symptoms improved.

These studies don’t address why community matters, but public health officials and past research have found that there are a variety of factors that can make a difference.

Cool vs. Cruel

Humane Society Sponsors Recreation of Runway Looks

The Art Institute of Vancouver just honored one of their fashion students Johana Zara as being named a finalist in the 2011 U.S. fur-free design contest called Cool vs. Cruel.

This contest sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States, which partnered with Art Institutes in North America, challenges students to reinterpret and improve a runway look that uses animal fur by creatively replacing it with cruelty-free alternatives. The four designers that the students are being challenged to duplicate into cruelty-free designs are Fendi, Alexander McQueen, Gucci or Oscar de la Renta. Finalists were selected from 200 entries.

The judges were looking for imaginative and resourceful interpretations of each design, so the garments couldn’t merely be recreated. Students had to use key elements to create their own version that would be animal-friendly. This competition is not only a learning experience for the students but for the designers as well who are being shown that some people do oppose animal fur on the runway and there are other alternatives.

Zara’s Fendi-inspired knee-length coat with an empire waist is going up against finalists chosen from 17 institutes across the United States. As a finalist, Zara has been awarded a cash prize in addition to being entered into the national competition. The grand-prize winner will receive an all expense-paid, week-long internship in New York City with a celebrated designer from the panel of judges including: John Bartlett, Victoria Bartlett, Mac Bouwer, Ally Chomer, Leanne Hilgart, Elizabeth Olsen and fashion photographer Nigel Barker.

Times are Even Harder for the Homeless

How Vancouver Needs More Homeless Shelters

There have been many demonstrations that have spoken out about the housing situation in Vancouver from Occupy Vancouver to other instances stating that more affordable housing is a dire need, especially as winter approaches. The city of Vancouver’s homelessness advocate is accusing the provincial government of people being left out in the cold this winter.

The province has provided funding of $1.5 million per year for the last two winters to support 160 spaces at four temporary shelters. This initiative started in 2008 however, the funding will not be forthcoming this year.

There have been extreme weather reports, which are indicating that it isn’t safe to sleep outside. Most homeless shelters available in the area have now been filled, however, there aren’t enough beds to house all of the homeless in the area. Some homeless shelters in the area are adding more beds to meet the coming demand. The staff at Convenant House, a shelter for youth, is now providing mats to sleep on once all the beds have been taken.

The province has recently announced funding for 100 new extreme weather shelter spaces in Vancouver, however, it seems as though the system might just not be so reliable so no one is counting beds, yet.

Extreme weather shelters usually don’t open between 9 pm and midnight because there are churches and other community centers that can be used during the evening.

There are still 340 shelters being funded by the province that started in 2008 but the need for more is definitely still apparent.

Occupy Vancouver

Economic Stability Starts with Affordable Housing

Similar Occupy Wall Street movements have been taking place all over the nation and have spread also into Canada, specifically into Vancouver. A rally held on Saturday took place to put forth possible solutions to the city’s affordable housing problem, which is what the occupiers claim is the most obvious local sign of global socio-economic inequality.

Economic inequality is something that is uniting the occupiers together. In Vancouver, it’s been said that the obvious manifestation of this economic, social and political inequality is due to the lack of affordable housing. Tent cities have become associated with the homeless in Vancouver, which has become a pretty big issue for this movement considered that it’s now being associated with the homeless.

Occupiers have been meeting with key organizations dealing with housing issues and would like to create a dialogue as to how to solve the city’s homeless and housing issues. They have drawn up a list of possible steps that can be taken to achieve more affordable housing. Occupiers say that they want to include first nations in land-use decisions and end alleged corruption between developers and civic politicians, real estate speculation, evictions and gentrification.

Drug use and fire safety issues in the site’s tent city have attracted much controversy in the run-up to the upcoming municipal election but Occupiers say the site cares, shelters, clothes and feeds homeless people more effectively than any organizations that are currently in place.

In comparison to the socialization that individuals go through in homeless shelters, Occupiers in Vancouver believe that they have formed a real community that has come together to fight for the same causes, all sharing now the same beliefs.

Welcome to Maple Leafs Talk!

Post anything and everything about Canada here, from hockey news to Canadian travel to general stories about living in Canada. Just click "Add Post" to begin!