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P:CA

Wednesday, February 1, 2023

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Introduction

Flag and Arms of Canada

Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over 9.98 million square kilometres (3.85 million square miles), making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Its southern and western border with the United States, stretching 8,891 kilometres (5,525 mi), is the world's longest binational land border. Canada's capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy in the Westminster tradition. The country's head of government is the prime minister, who holds office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the elected House of Commons, and is appointed by the governor general, representing the monarch of Canada, the head of state. The country is a Commonwealth realm and is officially bilingual (English and French) at the federal level. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, education, gender equality and environmental sustainability. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration. Canada's long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. (Full article...)

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William Aberhart's first cabinet, pictured with him in 1935, remained intact until late in 1936. By August 1937, four of its eight members had resigned or been fired.

The 1937 Social Credit backbenchers' revolt took place from March to June 1937 in the Canadian province of Alberta. It was a rebellion against Premier William Aberhart by a group of backbench (not part of the cabinet) members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) from his Social Credit League. The dissidents were unhappy with Aberhart's failure to provide Albertans with CA$25 monthly dividends through social credit as he had promised before his 1935 election. When the government's 1937 budget made no move to implement the dividends, many MLAs revolted openly and threatened to defeat the government in a confidence vote. (Full article...)

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Louis Alexander Slotin (1 December 1910 – 30 May 1946) was a Canadian physicist and chemist who took part in the Manhattan Project. Born and raised in the North End of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Slotin earned both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the University of Manitoba, before obtaining his doctorate in physical chemistry at King's College London in 1936. Afterwards, he joined the University of Chicago as a research associate to help design a cyclotron. (Full article...)

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Panoramic view of Calgary

Credit: Calgarypano

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Canadarm or Canadarm1 (officially Shuttle Remote Manipulator System or SRMS, also SSRMS) is a series of robotic arms that were used on the Space Shuttle orbiters to deploy, manoeuvre, and capture payloads. After the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, the Canadarm was always paired with the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS), which was used to inspect the exterior of the shuttle for damage to the thermal protection system. (Full article...)

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Education in Canada is for the most part provided publicly, and is funded and overseen by provincial, territorial and local governments. Education is within provincial jurisdiction and the curriculum is overseen by the province. Education in Canada is generally divided into primary education, followed by secondary education and post-secondary. Within the provinces under the ministry of education, there are district school boards administering the educational programs. (Full article...)

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Teslin River at Johnson's Crossing, Yukon
Credit: Merops

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Current events

January 25, 2023 – 2021–2023 inflation surge: The Bank of Canada raises its benchmark interest rate to 4.5 percent, the highest since the 2007–2008 financial crisis, amid high levels of inflation and vacancies affecting the Canadian economy. (Financial Post)
January 18, 2023 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: During a visit to Kyiv, Canadian National Defence Minister Anita Anand announces that Canada will send 200 Roshel Senator armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine. (CBC News)
January 12, 2023 –: An explosion at a propane store in Saint-Roch-de-l’Achigan, Quebec, Canada leaves three people missing. (CFCF-DT)
January 1, 2023 – 2021–2023 inflation surge: Canada enacts a law prohibiting foreigners, except for immigrants and permanent residents, from acquiring residential areas in the country for two years in response to a real-estate bubble. (CNN Business)
January 1, 2023 – COVID-19 pandemic: Australia and Canada announce that they will require travelers from China to present a negative COVID-19 test in order to enter their countries beginning on January 5. (CTV News) (Sydney Morning Herald)
December 24, 2022 – December 2022 North American winter storm: Four people are killed and 36 others are injured in a bus crash on Highway 97C in British Columbia, Canada. The crash was attributed to "icy roads" following the winter storm. (Sky News)

Past Canadian events

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... that Canadian artist Tom Forrestall spent six months painting his own car?
... that Brian Fawcett, who would have turned 78 today, taught English to inmates before becoming a full-time writer?
... that George Dudley threatened to withdraw Canada from ice hockey at the Olympic Games over the definition of an amateur?
... that Ivan Camilleri, the incoming auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Toronto, was an associate director of finance at Bell Canada Enterprises before becoming a priest?
... that at the 1997 Bully Hill Vineyards 150, Ron Fellows, driving for a team that did not have garage space, became the first Canadian to win a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race?
... that John Hutchison, in his role as Mayor of Toronto, signed the city's bid to become the capital of the Province of Canada?
... that in R v Zora, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the offence of breaching bail conditions requires subjective mens rea?

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The Tip O'Neill Award is given annually to a Canadian baseball player who is "judged to have excelled in individual achievement and team contribution while adhering to the highest ideals of the game of baseball." The award was created by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and first presented in 1984. It is named after James "Tip" O'Neill, one of the earliest Canadian stars in Major League Baseball (MLB). (Full article...)