Study fears allure of English over Quebec postsecondary students

     A Quebec's teacher union consisting of 180,000 members have commissioned to a study as to why so many students are attracted to English post-secondary education, the union considers the statistics and trend provided by the study worrisome. Many francophone students in Quebec are increasingly attending English colleges, they feel that by being fluent in both French and English will help them land better jobs; however, this poses as a threat to the Quebec community. The authors of the recent study explains that many French-students believe that English is the key language to gaining an upward social mobility and an increased knowledge of this language is the key to landing prestigious jobs. In Quebec, all students, by law, must attend French-language elementary and post-secondary education schools. However, once they reach university, they are able to choose between English and French colleges. The study shows that many of these students are switching to a program called CEGEP in college, which is education in English. Since 1997, less half of the sstudents in the CEGEP are not English speaking individuals. Many students confirmed that their main reason of change to an English college was because it had a brighter future to be bilingual even if they were raised in a French speaking environment. Based on the 2006 consenus, it showed that people in Montreal who used English at their workplace received higher salaries than those who didn't.

     This poses as a threat to Quebec because English is attracting so many of their students that their traditions may be loss and be immersed with the "Canadian" culture. Furthermore, Quebec was never too fond of Canada and English to begin with, thus resulting in their many attempts to separate from Canada. The Government has revealed that a possible solution to this English-crisis may be to implement a law that implies mandatory French education even in College.

     In the current economy that we live in, English is the language of the world. With knowledge of this language, surviving just becomes much easier. It is only natural that Quebec students are drawn to the idea of attending English colleges. It is not just French speaking people that realize the importance of English, even those in the East such as Asia have implemented English programs in their elementary and post-secondary studies. The rivalry between the French and English have caused Quebec to feel very uneasy about the statistics of this study. In the post-Internet ages, they have done a good job of reducing the use of English in Quebec. However, in this technological era, information is distributed across the globe and available to anyone. In my opinion, I feel that Quebec should accept the fact rather than trying to reduce the level of English speaking in their community. In their current state of action, Quebec is putting their pride before their advancement in society, this can only result in them being left behind in this fast-changing world.

Hospital initiative aims to stamp out superbugs

     Superbugs are currently one big issue that hospitals everywhere have to try to resolve. Superbugs are drug-resistant bacteria that lives in the hallways of hospitals, they infect thousands annually and killing an estimated 12,000 Canadians. The deaths of lives suffered from these bugs in Canada take the combined stats of deaths to breast cancer and deaths to car accidents in Canada. There are now new initiatives to stop these bugs, two years ago, five hospitals took part in a pilot project regarding superbugs; on Monday January 10, this program expanded to 30 other hospitals. The approach of this new initiative is to put the duty on the front line staff to come up with strategies to prevent and reduce the spread of diseases to multiple floors. The leader of this new initiative, Michael Gardam reveals that they have been trying to fight these bugs for over 40 years now and the rates of their reproduction keep going up, which makes things worse. However, with this new program, they are finally starting to see some results. The 30 hospitals taking part in this initiative are going to, over the next year, will develope tactics for specific wards that take aim for methicillin -resistant Staphylococcus aureus and a host of other superbugs.

     What kills patients at hospitals is not the disease they are diagnosed with, but rather it is the disease which lowers their immune system levels leaving their body vulnerable to attacks. More than 200,000 patients suffer from hospital acquired diseases in a year. These diseases are results of three main factors; over prescribing of antibiotics that have helped create drug-resistant bugs; old and overcrowded hospitals; and health-care workers not following basic hand hygiene. In Toronto East General Hospital, they've come up with the idea of putting green tags on IV poles to indicate that they are disinfected, results of this idea have yet to be analyzed. While in Vancouver General Hospital, staff on particular floors walk around with hand sanitizer to clean patients' hands.

     I think that hospitals have put this problem aside for too long and giving too much time for the bugs to grow to the point where they are very hard to get rid of. As establishments of health care, hospitals should provide a safe environment for patients to recover, not one where they are at risk of developing other diseases. Despite this, it is still good that hospitals are raising awareness about this issue before it gets even more out of hand. In my opinion, this problem all started with the inconsistency of keeping the hospital clean. When hospitals decided that one or two janitors are able to monitor and clean a whole hospital, they were already contributing to the start of this problem. Why is it that there are so many people that work with paper works versus those that do cleaning and why do hospitals prioritize paper work over sanitation. The insufficient amount of janitors left hospitals filthy and an ideal environment for the growth of nasty bacteria and bugs. Hospitals are slowly realizing their mistakes and are putting more money and effort into the sanitary compartment than ever before.

    

Highly educated immigrants fare better in U.S. than Canada

     New research shows that university-educated immigrants in Canada earn significantly less than those in the States. The statistics from this research may prove to be a problem for Canada, a country built upon the attraction of bright individuals from around the world. Specifically, the research shows that highly educated recent immigrants find that their earnings are very low when compared to their Canadian-born counter-parts; those born in Canada of the same background earn about 50% more. In the States, this gap is lowered to a safe 30%.This, however, was not the case in 1980, when those of high education that immigrated to Canada received earnings on par with those born in Canada. The study's author, Aneta Bonikowska of Statistics Canada say that immigrant fortunes in the two countries started to divide in the 1990s; however the reason for this diversion is still elusive. Some suggested possibilities that caused this diversion may be that there are more immigrants going to Canada than the U.S, this causes limited supply.

     Mr.Bonikowska says that Canada has been accepting a much larger percentage of university-educated immigrants than in the past. In 1980, around 20 per cent of the immigrants were university- educated and in 2005, around 55 per cent of immigrants are university-educated. However, this climb is much slower in the U.S, only 35 per cent of their immigrants are university-educated in 2005. Canada's source countries for immigrants have also changed significantly, as Asian immigrants slowly replace those from Europe. In 2005, 80% of the immigrants that came to Canada neither spoke French nor English. The most troubling stat from this research is that this gap has been present ever since 1960. This new study suggest that becoming more Canadian held the key to finding work in Canada. Wei Chen is an example of an university-educated immigrant that came to Canada and was disappointed with the results he had with work. However, after enrolling in an one-year program in career counselling and landing a job as a career coach, he has had much success. As someone not native to Canada, we have our advantages, and that is we represent our own culture and help organizations reach a common goal, Wei Chen says.

     This article really illustrates the struggle that immigrants go through when they first arrive in Canada. Many of these immigrants, by immigrating to Canada, are throwing away everything they have in their homeland; they are sacrificing their jobs that they worked so hard for. Literally, Canada is just the opposite of what many think it is, when people plan to start over in Canada, they think that the living conditions will be so much better. However, life in Canada is especially hard for new immigrants because they have just arrived in an unfamiliar place with nothing to work it; it also doesn't help when Canada makes it so hard for immigrants to find jobs. What often starts out as excitement to start all over becomes a living hell for these immigrants, they are being treated unfairly. Canada is not paying them enough for what they are worth, why do two people of the same education-level but coming from different places have different amount of earnings? This is extremely unfair for those who have thrown away their lives back at home in order to come here. What's more is that Canada advertises themselves for these skilled workers to come, and once they arrive, Canada starts treating them badly. I think this is extremely unfair to the immigrants because of the ordeal that Canadian life is putting on them. I think that keeping to your words is very important and if you can't even commit to that, then there is no point in advertising in the first place.

    

Halifax teen shot with pellet gun after snowballs thrown at truck

     A teenager from Halifax was shot with a pellet gun to the face when he and his friends where throwing snowballs at bypassing vehicles. The teen had been taking full advantage of the latest snow storm to hit Halifax, the storm on late Wednesday closed schools and local business leaving teens free to do what they want. Many teens engaged in winter sports such as tobogganing and snowball fights; however, at one spot in the North end of the city, youths were engaging in a tradition of pitching snowballs at bypassing vehicles. This was fun and amusing when finally, three men jumped out of their truck and confronted the children with a pellet gun asking who was responsible.Constable Brian said that when no one took responsibility, several children were assaulted by the men, and one shot in the face with a pellet gun. The only injured teen is still suffering from the wound and is currently in the hospital. The victim, 16, is said to not be in any life threatening conditions; however, when the police asked him questions, he said that neither him nor his friends were amongst those who threw snowballs at the vehicles. Constable Brian says that while children are not encouraged to commit to such forms of "fun", such a response from adults was way overboard. In addition, the men could have just reported the situation to the police without taking actions by themselves, by taking action, they are also committing to acts of violence.

     In this situation, I think that both parties are wrong. First of all, throwing snowballs at bypassing vehicles can be very dangerous to the drivers and others, especially during the wintertime. This diverts the focus of drivers and takes away their vision. However, in this situation it can be understood and forgiven because it was teenagers and children throwing snowballs, at this age, many are still curious and immature. But this does not mean that two wrongs equals a right. As more responsible and mature citizens, the three men should have told the children to stop rather than lose their cool and resort to violence to stop the children. If adults are displaying such behavior in public society, our youth generation will only follow in their footsteps, ultimately creating a violent society.

Man, 20, dies after being intentionally mowed down by SUV

     With a sudden and unfortunate change of tides, a day of celebration quickly turn into a day of remorse and sorrow for the Dang family. The Dang family originally had plans for Saturday to celebrate the birthday of Mother Dang, instead, the Vietnamese couple spent their Saturday at Toronto morgue learning how their son Vincent Dang, 20, had been intentionally killed. The murderer had intentionally mowed over Vincent Dang with a SUV; the suspect, however, is still unknown. Police believe that the case for this unfortunate event was a dispute that broke out with a rival group at a party. Vincent was a student of the University of Toronto. Dang and friends were partying at the Rockwood nightclub when they got into a minor altercation with a rival group at 2:00 AM. Eventually, the groups took their "fight" out to the street, fortunately no physical contact had been made. Although some members of the rival group had been identified, it is believed that the murderer and Mr.Dang did not know one another. Vincent Dang was rushed to St.Michael's hospital immediately after he had been hit by the SUV and was proclaimed dead at 3:30 AM. Investigations are currently under process; police say that investigations are going well, they have interviewed people whom have given valuable information and got a hold of the footage of the incident. Regardless, the murder will be facing a second-degree murder charge at minimum, as stated by Sgt.Nielsen.

     This is an incident that illustrate how unpredictable things can turn out when alcohol fuels the aggressive impulse of young adults and teenagers. Although such incidents are unfortunate, they are very common amongst young teenagers. Small conflicts, added with the effects of alcohol, can result in very serious situations where it is certain that the outcome will not be peaceful. The aggression and inability to remain calm during such situations define the instability characteristic of teenagers. Many teenagers often realize their mistake after committing to it and often suffer from regret; sometimes those stupid mistakes and decision may very well define one's life. Such records of crime leave teenagers to be abandoned by both society and friends who do not want to be dragged down.

     The common behavior with teenagers results in their misunderstanding of society from the protection of their parents; all their lives, they've been viewing society from behind the power and status of their parents. Without the realization that they are being protected, the teenagers begin to view themselves equal to the status and power of their parents and adventure through the real world without any respect and care for things. However, in some other cases, it may be the instability of the family that causes the young teenager to behave in such violent ways. I think the best way to address this problem is to target the youth, to raise awareness before they start developing that aggression and impulsive method of thinking. By targetting the younger generation, it is possible to complete get rid of this problem as they will teach their children and create a trend.

Wisconsin student shoots himself after seven-hour classroom hostage ordeal

     At Wisconsin High School, a 15 year old student held his classmates and teachers captive after school one day. The 15 year old student held a gun that struck fear into many other students and even the teachers themselves. The principal did not learn of this until he realized that none of the teachers and students in that class had been seen since the end of school. Authorities said that the gunman did not have any intentions of neither harming others nor gaining something; the gunman's motive is still a mystery. However, the gun has been shot a total of 5 times; 3 just as the police arrived, 1 in the wall, and 1 in a desk. Later, extra ammunition has been found. Fortunately, all the hostages were released safely. During the standoff, the gunman ordered everyone to abandone their cellphones; and when his own cellphone rang, he snapped it in half. Students later describe that the gunman had no intentions of harming anyone, they were just conversing, however, the gunman would not talk to the teachers. The students and teachers tried to keep the gunman happy by talking to him about his subjects of interest. After the 7 and a half standoff, the gunman shot himself in a vital spot; he was immediately transported to the nearby hospital. The conditions of the gunman are unknown, just that he was vitally wounded. The teacher, later described another, was very calm in the situation and was able to reassure everyone.

     This article illustrates the problem of isolation in high schools. Although there are many methods to isolate one from the community, the results are all the same; the victim becomes uncomfortable, depressed and insecure. The 15 year old student in this article was clearly lonely and it is clearly shown that he only wanted to converse with others and meant no harm. Despite his intentions, his method of approaching his desires forced others to think otherwise. I am sure, however, that the student realized his mistake and decided at the end of the standoff to shoot himself. It is very normal for other students to panic during the standoff because you can never know what is going through the gunner's mind. I thought the teacher played a very vital role in keeping everyone safe because she was able to calm her students. In situations like these, with the absence of calmness, the situation may have turned out very differently. Although this article does not relate hugely to society, it still serves as a reminder to us that we may encounter very difficult situations in our lives and that patience and calmness is the key to persevere through them.

Canada unveils another $93-million for Haiti quake reconstruction

     The International Cooperation Minister of Canada, Bev Oda, has announced that Canada will put out another 93-million dollars on top of the original 400-million dollars into the aid of Haiti's recovery after a devastating earthquake. The 93-million dollars will be spent towards the goals of : improvement of child health, education and agriculture. This new initiative will revolve around reconstructing and improving everyday lives of Haiti inhabitants; efforts such as building new schools, hospitals, and providing food all contribute to the reconstruction of Haiti. While Oda states that Canada is fulfilling its promises to Haiti of improving life, the federal government and Western donor nations are feeling skeptic that Canada has not done enough in the 12 months since the earthquake. The earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010 killed 300,000 and left over 1.4 million homeless.

     Mrs. Jean, a Haitian born Canadian feels that other nations have been giving as little effort and money as they can contribute to the cause. Haitians feel abandoned because of the slow pace of recovery, although the earthquake happened a year ago, over 1 million still live in camps and remain homeless. What started as a natural disaster is becoming a disgraceful reflection of the international community. However, Canadian officials argue that the slow pace of recovery is the result of the Haitian government's weakness, which was completely devastated by the earthquake.

     While money does not define the amount of effort that Canada has contributed in the recovery of Haiti, it definitely helps, especially when Canada contributed almost half a billion to the recovery of Haiti. However, sometimes people think that it is the willingness and display of care that earns the credit rather than giving the resources. In reality, I think that both factors are important in the aid of recovery because without resources, no advancements will be made and without care, it just seems that our connection as a species is so weak and that we are escaping the human nature of sympathy.

     In my opinion, I do not think that Canada has not contributed enough, but they can certainly contribute more to this cause. It is just as the article says, Canada is giving the minimal support they can; but then again, who is to say that Canada has to aid in this cause? There are many more worse outcome of this recovery process; the Haitians do not have any right to demand the help of other countries although it is humanely righteous for other countries to do so.