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Friday, June 9, 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, making it the world's second-largest country by total area, with the world's longest coastline. Its border with the United States is the world's longest international land border. The country is characterized by a wide range of both meteorologic and geological regions. It is sparsely inhabited, with the vast majority residing south of the 55th parallel in urban areas. Canada's capital is Ottawa and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

Canada is a parliamentary liberal 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 "called upon" by the governor general, representing the monarch of Canada, the ceremonial head of state. The country is a Commonwealth realm and is officially bilingual (English and French) in the federal jurisdiction. It is very highly ranked in international measurements of government transparency, quality of life, economic competitiveness, innovation and education. 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 history, economy, and culture. (Full article...)

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Operation Tractable was the final attack conducted by Canadian and Polish troops, supported by a British tank brigade, during the Battle of Normandy during World War II. The operation was to capture the tactically important French town of Falaise and then the smaller towns of Trun and Chambois. This operation was undertaken by the First Canadian Army with the 1st Polish Armoured Division (Generał brygady Stanisław Maczek) and a British armoured brigade against Army Group B of the Westheer in what became the largest encirclement on the Western Front during the Second World War. Despite a slow start and limited gains north of Falaise, novel tactics by the 1st Polish Armoured Division during the drive for Chambois enabled the Falaise Gap to be partially closed by 19 August 1944, trapping about 150,000 German soldiers in the Falaise Pocket. (Full article...)

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David Lewis CC QC (born David Losz; June 23 or October 1909 – May 23, 1981) was a Canadian labour lawyer and social democratic politician. He was national secretary of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) from 1936 to 1950 and one of the key architects of the New Democratic Party (NDP) in 1961. In 1962, he was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP), in the House of Commons of Canada, for the York South electoral district. While an MP, he was elected the NDP's national leader and served from 1971 until 1975. After his defeat in the 1974 federal election, he stepped down as leader and retired from politics. He spent his last years as a university professor at Carleton University, and as a travel correspondent for the Toronto Star. In retirement, he was named to the Order of Canada for his political service. After suffering from cancer for a long time, he died in Ottawa in 1981. (Full article...)

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Panoramic view of Toronto

Credit: Sunshine87 (Johannes Akkach)

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Canada Day (French: Fête du Canada), formerly known as Dominion Day (French: Fête du Dominion), is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867, with the passing of the British North America Act, 1867, when the three separate colonies of the United Canadas, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick were united into a single dominion within the British Empire called Canada. Originally called Dominion Day (French: Le Jour de la Confédération), the holiday was renamed in 1982, the same year that the Canadian constitution was patriated by the Canada Act, 1982. Canada Day celebrations take place throughout the country, as well as in various locations around the world attended by Canadians living abroad. (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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Northwest Crown Fire Experiment, Canada
Credit: (Photograph used by permission of the USDA Forest Service.)

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Current events

June 7, 2023 – 2023 Canadian wildfires: 2023 Central Canada wildfires, 2023 United States East Coast wildfire smoke; Millions of people in the eastern United States and central Canada are warned to limit their time outdoors due to smoke and bad air quality from large wildfires in northern Ontario and Quebec. (Reuters via Yahoo! News); Officials in Chibougamau, Quebec, order 7,300 residents to evacuate in response to two nearby wildfires. (CBC News)
June 3, 2023 – 2023 Nova Scotia wildfires: A wildfire in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia, Canada, continues to burn out of control, becoming the largest wildfire in the province's history. (CBC News)
June 3, 2023 –: Four children are found dead on a beach in Portneuf-sur-Mer, Quebec, Canada, after eleven people on a fishing trip on the St. Lawrence River were caught in a tidal bore and went missing. Six of the eleven people have been rescued, while one man is still missing. (CNN)
June 2, 2023 – 2023 Central Canada wildfires: The government of Sept-Îles, Quebec, Canada, declares a state of emergency and orders the evacuation of more than 10,000 residents following a series of wildfires in the eastern part of the country. (CNA)

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... that Dan Finnerty was cast in Single All the Way so that he could cross the Canada–U.S. border and join his wife, Kathy Najimy, on the set of the film?
... that Canada's National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls called for the abolition of birth alerts?
... that Women's Barracks, regarded as a classic of lesbian pulp fiction, was banned in Canada and became the first paperback-original bestseller in the United States?
... that Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau made an unannounced visit to a McDonald's at the Whitby Mall?
... that the Boeing 247 DZ203 flew for United Airlines and the RCAF before the RAF used it to perform the world's first completely automated approach and blind landing?
... 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 the success of the children's poetry book Alligator Pie led to the author, Dennis Lee, being named "Canada's Father Goose"?

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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...)

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