So I got arrested by the SWAT team last night… Jeremy Bell's office was stormed by Ontario Police looking for some Lego blocks he bought online. An eyewitness account.
posted by boo_radley on Dec 4, 2009 - 140 comments

Will the Tar Barons get their way?
posted by batboy on Dec 3, 2009 - 29 comments

Montréal Mirabel Airport was opened in 1975 at the cost of $2 billion adjusted. Ultimately its tarmac and runway areas alone were to take up 70 km² (27 mi²) of space and would have made it the world's largest airport. The airport never got any busier than Boise Airport is today, and the passenger terminals are now abandoned shells (slideshow). A key factor in the failure was that for 22 years authorities banned all international flights from the much-closer, thriving Dorval Airport, heavily used by locals and business travellers. It didn't help that Montreal was already sliding into decline in the 1970s due to the growth of the Great Lakes and Toronto-based economies and uncertainties about Quebec's political climate. Montreal is no stranger to alleged boondoggles: Olympic Stadium, half-finished during the 1976 Summer Games, spiralled $1 billion over budget.
posted by crapmatic on Nov 27, 2009 - 46 comments

“A deep political crisis of the Afghan society is obvious… The coalition of social forces continues to change in favor of the counter-revolution.The state regime is not capable of stopping the counter-revolution on its own.” CPAC’s Peter Van Dusen recently hosted a televised debate over Canada's military involvement in Afghanistan. Afghanistan: Noble Fight or Lost Cause?
posted by acro on Nov 16, 2009 - 5 comments

Olympic Flame Burns for Icy Relay
Canada is launching its countdown to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics by boldly sending the Olympic flame farther north than it has ever gone before.
posted by kliuless on Nov 15, 2009 - 22 comments

Toronto's Open Civic Data. The city of Toronto has released its data to the world via the new Open Toronto initiative: geographic data for a variety of civic divisions, lists of licensed business, public transit stops, routes & schedules, a SOAP-based geocoding API and more.
posted by GuyZero on Nov 3, 2009 - 30 comments

From Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe to Zombie Nightmare, Canuxploitation is your guide to the world of Canadian B-movies. Via the always indispensable (and occasionally NSFW) Mondo Digital.
posted by Horace Rumpole on Oct 24, 2009 - 32 comments

Stick with 'er Wiener! On March 9, 1987, a well-known derailment occurred here when a runaway CN train journeyed from Brunswick Mines to just short of the wye. There was a mixup in communications and engineer Wesley MacDonald ended up with more cars on his train than he thought, and the brakes on the engine alone were unable to hold the consist on the grade in the Brunswick Mines yard. Great radio show about the accident that we previously discussed here.
posted by srboisvert on Oct 21, 2009 - 7 comments

Stephen Harper, Canada's Prime Minister, sings "With A Little Help From My Friends" at a gala last night in Ottawa with Yo Yo Ma and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Harper survived a confidence vote this week with a little help from his former sworn enemies.
posted by salishsea on Oct 4, 2009 - 43 comments

On September 10th, to celebrate their initiation week, 172 communications students at the University of Quebec at Montreal decided to put on a show. After weeks of preparation, the costumed and prop-wielding crowd enacted an exuberant, complex, and flawlessly-choreographed performance of the Black Eyed Peas song "I Gotta Feeling" that sprawled through the campus's multi-story Judith Jasmin Pavilion... and they did it all in one continuous take (on their second try). The feat is just the most recent example of "lipdubbing" -- a video phenomenon where a single camera moves through a crowd of highly coordinated lip-syncers in a single seamless take, with the original recording dubbed over the finished product. [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi on Oct 1, 2009 - 83 comments

Winnipeg: Love and Hate [more inside]
posted by Orange Pamplemousse on Sep 12, 2009 - 48 comments

Two hundred and fifty years ago the Battle of the Plains of Abraham* took place in Quebec City. In a fight that lasted less than an hour (following a three-month siege throughout the summer of 1759), both generals died and the British won Quebec, soon becoming masters of most of North America. [more inside]
posted by zadcat on Sep 7, 2009 - 91 comments

Despite a reputation as an effective multi-cultural city, Toronto continues to have difficulties successfully integrating its communities of African heritage. In response to significantly higher than average high school drop-out rates in those communities, some academics suggested the creation of "black-focused public schools" [PDF] as means of re-engaging black youth with education. Needless to say, this caused debate, controversy, and even anger, but the first afro-centric public elementary school will open this month.
posted by modernnomad on Sep 3, 2009 - 43 comments

This past Thursday the Canadian government granted refugee status to Brandon Huntley, a South African who has been living illegally in Canada since 2005. Huntley claimed that if he were to be repatriated back to South Africa he would be persecuted due to the fact that he is white. The South African government is not amused. [more inside]
posted by PenDevil on Aug 31, 2009 - 56 comments

Facebook agrees to privacy changes [Flash video | article]. [more inside]
posted by shoesfullofdust on Aug 27, 2009 - 43 comments

Land's End: Photographer and writer Christopher Grabowski documents the fading industrial towns of the British Columbia coast. Interview, and some of his other Photo Essays at Geist Magazine.
posted by Rumple on Aug 18, 2009 - 11 comments

Dog Assaults News Anchor...with love!
posted by Christ, what an asshole on Aug 17, 2009 - 63 comments

'Artisanal butters' are favored and appreciated by cooks and gourmands -- especially those crafted by "garage entrepreneurs" from Maine [video]* and Vermont (churned by Diane St. Clair and favored by Thomas Keller at his noted restaurants, The French Laundry and Per Se). Butters from Canada, France, Ireland and elsewhere are also cherished. [more inside]
posted by ericb on Aug 2, 2009 - 36 comments

In response to a complaint by law students at the University of Ottawa in May of 2008, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has found that Facebook is operating contrary to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. In other words, Facebook is breaching Canadian privacy law. Facebook has pledged to work with the Canadian government on this issue, and has 30 days to comply; if the Commissioner remains unsatisfied with their progress, they may take the case to Federal Court to force compliance.
posted by stinkycheese on Aug 1, 2009 - 45 comments

Detained in Kenya for not looking enough like her passport photo, Canadian Citizen Suaad Haji Mohamud has been trapped in Kenya for 2 months while trying to return home to her adopted country. [more inside]
posted by jacquilynne on Jul 24, 2009 - 29 comments

Canada's Bill C-61 is being zombified as talks begin this week in Vancouver to attempt a dialogue on public opinion. But it's okay, cause they're using twitter this time. [more inside]
posted by tamarack on Jul 21, 2009 - 16 comments

Animated infographics explain the importance of eating Canadian.
posted by twoleftfeet on Jul 15, 2009 - 74 comments

From the guys that brought you Hobo With A Shogun comes award-winning short, Treevenge (NSFW)
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Jul 13, 2009 - 34 comments

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has found himself in a bit of an imbroglio this week. Having attended the state funeral of former Governor General Romeo LeBlanc, the evangelical Harper has been accused of pocketing a communion wafer, an action considered "seriously offensive" by Catholics [scroll down for explanation]. But as professor of Internet and E-commerce law Michael Geist notes, the confusing thing about the controversy isn't whether the PM did or didn't eat the wafer (or even whether he should have been offered it in the first place), but rather why Societe Radio-Canada (the French name for the government-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) has yanked a video of the incident from YouTube. [more inside]
posted by ocherdraco on Jul 9, 2009 - 63 comments

Canada's Tourism Minister, Diane Ablonczy, was stripped of responsibility for a Marquee Tourism Events Program budget of $100 million, after she gave $397,500 to Toronto's Pride Week festival, which attracts a million tourists to Toronto every June. The story was broken by backbench Conservative MP Brad Trost in the blog LifeSiteNews.com, who stated that most of the Conservative cauacus was shocked at the award, and that Ms. Ablonczy was stripped of the budget as punishment. Pride Toronto's response. The Tories run damage control.
posted by Quiplash on Jul 8, 2009 - 71 comments

Watch Bruce McDonald's Twitch City, read Ty Templeton's Stig's Inferno, listen to Al Purdy's On Being Human, play Ian and Linda Currie's Jagged Alliance, be vaguely unsettled by Michael Snow's Wavelength and have a happy Canada Day [more inside]
posted by Simon! on Jul 1, 2009 - 50 comments

The Toughest Canada Day Quiz Ever. In honour of Canada Day, one tough quiz from the magazine that told us how much the Internet sucks.
posted by GuyZero on Jun 30, 2009 - 49 comments

Canadian War Poster Collection at McGill University. And if that doesn't strike your fancy, the list of digital collections include such time-honoured favourites as Expo '67, and the award-winner for unexpected collection, Gynaecology in Traditional Chinese Medicine. (previously)
posted by flibbertigibbet on Jun 26, 2009 - 7 comments

First Nations (aboriginal) communities in Canada often have levels of squalor and health outcomes comparable to developing nations [PDF]. Abuse of alcohol and other drugs is rife. Generally low health care levels in these communities has led to outbreaks of H1N1 (swine flu). While the distribution of hand sanitizer might help control these outbreaks, the Canadian government is hesitant to do so out of fear that the alcohol-based sanitizer will be ingested. Some argue that this is nothing more than continued paternalism that has reduced the First peoples of Canada to their present state.
posted by modernnomad on Jun 24, 2009 - 63 comments

"I filled my water bottles , fuel bottle and ate some snacks. I reset my altimeter to 1300ft and started shortly past 2pm. The first sign stated 'Eagle Plains 363, Inuvik 735'. The distances were measured in kilometers with green km posts every 2km along the road. A few kilometers down the road, I crossed an old fire burn area with dead trees still standing. The sun was shining and I was eager to get started on the road. The gravel was occasionally soft as the road slowly climbed along the valley." An enterprising man relates his journey up the Dempster Highway on bicycle. [more inside]
posted by Avenger on Jun 19, 2009 - 14 comments

Canadian DJ bloke Tiga has a new album called Ciao. He's made a spoof documentary to promote it. It's really funny, even if you don't know about dance music - A bit like Nathan Barley by the ever wonderful Chris Morris. Part 1 Part 2
posted by debord on Jun 4, 2009 - 20 comments

The Vanishing Point: Urban Exploration in Canada [more inside]
posted by dunkadunc on Jun 3, 2009 - 17 comments

Canada’s Governor General began her Arctic tour by gutting a freshly slaughtered seal, pulling out its heart and eating it raw. [more inside]
posted by KokuRyu on May 25, 2009 - 100 comments

Perpetual Motions — for emerging filmmakers to make short calling-card films and for more experienced creators to explore the limits of animation on the web. From the National Film Board of Canada.
posted by netbros on May 17, 2009 - 1 comment

The National Film Board of Canada's 5th annual online short film competition "Internet votes will decide the best film, and the winner will be announced at Cannes on May 21." NFB previously. [via Drawn!]
posted by mediareport on May 14, 2009 - 6 comments

17 year old Julia Dales, from Canada, winner of the first Beatbox Battle Online World Championship. Her amazing wild card audition, "two minutes of DJ noises, a good bass line, a full drum kit, a remix of Justin Timberlake, Fergie and Nelly Furtado, some rewinds, a car starting, and an arsenal of other noises".The contest site.
posted by nickyskye on May 13, 2009 - 77 comments

Louie Palu is a Canadian Photojournalist. His series, Goodbye, Guantánamo, is up for some big awards.
posted by chunking express on Apr 30, 2009 - 9 comments

My date with Willy Pickton. Robert Pickton that is, Canada's most prolific serial killer.
posted by GuyZero on Apr 13, 2009 - 30 comments

This Ain't Flint [more inside]
posted by various on Apr 10, 2009 - 78 comments

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that a search of your trash doesn't violate your privacy. This decision is in line with that of the United States. [more inside]
posted by Lemurrhea on Apr 9, 2009 - 80 comments

People die and different folk celebrate and mourn in various ways. However, while it does seem as if everyone is blogging about baseball and boxing or UFC during these times that try men's souls'... not everyone can write about it for the CTV network. John will be missed by both Blue Jay and Expo fans and perhaps fight fans as well. Please take a moment of your time to click on some links, thank you.
posted by christopher.taylor on Mar 26, 2009 - 3 comments

In what has been described as "a major blow to online free speech in Canada", an Ontario court has ordered the owners of FreeDominion.ca to disclose all personal information on eight anonymous posters to the chat site - including email and IP addresses. [more inside]
posted by Joe Beese on Mar 25, 2009 - 34 comments

Fox News, keeping it classy, recently aired a comedy segment ridiculing the Canadian military's efforts in Afghanistan. On the overnight programme, host Greg Gutfeld and friends joked about Canada's plan to pull out troops in 2011 to "do some yoga, paint landscapes, run on the beach in gorgeous white Capri pants." He also suggested invading Canada seeing as how they "have no real army", and mocked the last name of one of the Canadian generals as being unmasculine. [more inside]
posted by spoobnooble on Mar 24, 2009 - 138 comments

Ferdinand Waldo Demara Jr was a prison warden, a monk, a lawyer and a religiously-oriented psychologist, and yet he was actually none of those things. Now known as "The Great Imposter", Demara held many careers as he faked his way through life, but his most famous exploit was to masquerade as surgeon Joseph Cyr aboard the HMCS Cayuga, a Royal Canadian Navy destroyer, during the Korean War. [more inside]
posted by Effigy2000 on Mar 17, 2009 - 22 comments

Up in Maple country The season is right for making maple syrup. Grades a,b,d; colors are factors. The international market is a factor. Visit lovely Cape Breton. [more inside]
posted by longsleeves on Mar 15, 2009 - 19 comments

Kate Beaton, Historical Cartoonist
posted by flatluigi on Mar 13, 2009 - 70 comments

[NSFW] It's almost time to Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys -- the final episode of the Trailer Park Boys aired in December, 2008. (As Bubbles says, "It's a dirty, sassy liquor. So sassy.") Producer Mike Clattenburg says that there will be a second movie, "Countdown to Liquor Day", to be released late in 2009. After that, though, the TPB franchise will buy the great double-wide in the sky. [pervyously, preevisilly or however th' fuck you say it.] [more inside]
posted by not_on_display on Mar 11, 2009 - 58 comments

What has long been touted as the world's longest undefended border (that running between Canada and the United States) has undergone many changes since 9/11. In an effort to secure its Northern border, the U.S. now employs Predator drones, Blackhawk helicopter patrols, high speed boats, and Google searches. There may even be a big fence in our future. More troubling still are increased demands for information on Canadian citizens, and increased searching powers of U.S. border guards. And don't ask them to say please either.
posted by stinkycheese on Mar 7, 2009 - 111 comments

Scraping Bottom: The Canadian Oil Boom. "Once considered too expensive, as well as too damaging to the land, exploitation of Alberta's oil sands is now a gamble worth billions."
posted by homunculus on Feb 26, 2009 - 41 comments

Dance (with echoes) from 1968 It has a slow build but is worth watching through until the end. Filmed by Norman McLaren. Site Previously Noted 13 minute video.
posted by Sparx on Feb 26, 2009 - 3 comments