The Vancouver 2010 Olympics will be missing Canada’s head of state, the Toronto Star reported Nov. 8.
Queen Elizabeth II declined the Government of Canada’s invitation to open the Olympic ceremonies this winter. Governor General Michäelle Jean will do the honours instead.

This Halloween when trick-or-treaters came knocking, my childhood memories came with them.
Six o’clock brought a Bratz Doll, an unidentified superhero and Harry Potter. I missed the days when I was hurried out the door at six o’clock along with Barbie dolls, Batmans and Sabrina Spellmans.

The Quebec College of Physicians has formally endorsed euthanasia “in certain exceptional situations,” the Toronto Star reported Nov. 3.
A poll of 2,000 medical specialists in Quebec indicated 75 per cent support euthanasia, while 81 per cent of the doctors had witnessed euthanasia being practiced in the province.

If there’s one thing I look forward to when the Halloween season comes to a close, it’s discount candy.
But when you step into your local Shoppers Drug Mart or dollar store this November, you might just be greeted by one of the most terrifying and bewildering sounds—the Christmas carol.

Paris, France’s 2007 plan to help cut carbon emissions by implementing a shared bicycle-rental system will continue despite major setbacks, the New York Times reported Oct. 31.
The rental system allows inhabitants or visitors in Paris to take bicycles from public docking stations across the city and pedal to their destination.

Amongst my friends and housemates, there’s a drunken compulsion that I’m famous for indulging.
No, not that.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty plans to move forward with implementing a full-day kindergarten program by 2015, the Globe and Mail reported Oct. 27.
The $1.5 billion plan to enrol Ontario’s four- and five-year-olds in full-day schooling comes at a time when Ontario’s projected deficit is sitting at nearly $25 billion.

It’s Saturday night and I have a midterm and two essays due on Monday, an article due sometime tomorrow and a whole lot of reading to finish. So naturally, I’m working on none of the above.

The use of hand-held phones while driving in Ontario is now a thing of the past.
A new law came into effect yesterday making it illegal to use a cell phone to talk or text while behind the wheel of a car.

The list of unusable words is long, but getting claustrophobic about my vocabulary won’t help anyone.
Derogatory terms are facing the social firing squad, although there’s one that has yet to drop as hard as the others.

The Copenhagen summit starting Dec. 7, 2009 is a chance to negotiate a new international treaty addressing climate change, columnist Simon Jackson for CBC News reported Oct. 19.
According to Jackson, the Copenhagen treaty is poised to effect more change than did the Kyoto Protocol given the rise in public support for environmental issues in the “new, post-Inconvenient Truth world.”

The transition into autum is a tricky one, as September has a way of lulling me into a false sense of security.
Classes begin but still feel carefree because all those friends you lost to the summer months are bustling around campus once again, offering the ability to reunite everywhere you wander.

Japanese car company Nissan will offer its new all-electric car to Vancouver buyers if the city agrees to fund a network of charging stations, the Toronto Star reported Oct 16.
The vehicle, called the Leaf, would hit Vancouver dealerships in 2011 if the government installs a series of 220-volt outlets throughout the city.

October brings with it many things: fall colours, midterms, Thanksgiving turkey and then the onslaught of graduate school applications. Over the past couple of weeks, while searching websites and guidebooks for the right program, it’s becoming ever more apparent that the academic world is bigger than the area bordered by Lake Ontario, West Campus and Johnson St.