November

	Archbishop Fred Hiltz, the Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, looks on as Deacon Mark Whittall gives a puppet-aided bible lesson to children in Christ Church, Parish of Huntley, near Ottawa Nov. 23. The primate presided at the worship service marking the 170th anniversary of the church.
	Archbishop Fred Hiltz, the Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, gives a blessing at a service celebrating the 170th anniversary of Christ Church, Parish of Huntley, near Ottawa Nov. 23. The primate presided at the service and delivered the homily.
	After more than a decade of "strong economic growth," child poverty in Canada is about the same as it was in 1989 when Parliament unanimously resolved to end child poverty by the year 2000, said Laurel Rothman, National Coordinator of Campaign 2000. "As Canada heads into a period of economic uncertainty, the most strategic decision the federal government could make would be to lower the poverty rate," she said. Rothman made the comments in releasing the organization's 2008 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada, at a news conference on Parliament Hill Nov. 21.
	Joe Gunn, Executive Director of Citizens for Public Justice, a faith-based national justice organization, noted that the word, "poverty," was not even mentioned in the recent Throne Speech opening the new session of Parliament Nov. 19. "And to our great disappointment, there was no stated commitment to provide the leadership necessary to develop the anti-poverty strategy that we need in Canada," he said. Gunn was speaking at a Campaign 2000 news conference on Parliament Hill Nov. 21 to release the organization's 2008 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada.
	Peggy Taillon, President of the Canadian Council on Social Development, says Canadians are looking for leadership. Had there been an action plan in place as Canadians face the current economic downturn," families that are living with the bottom falling out, would have a buffer," she said at the Campaign 2000 news conference on Parliament Hill Nov. 21. "Without that buffer, families who have never been placed in a situation of financial insecurity are two or three pay cheques away now from their bottom falling out."
	Justin Trudeau, son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, took part in his first news conference Nov. 21 as the Liberal Party's Associate Critic for Human Resources and Skills Development. Elected to Parliament in the federal election Oct. 23, Trudeau said the gap between wealthier Canadians and Canadians living in poverty is increasing. The Canadian economy is best served in the long term when individual Canadians are able to focus on contributing to the economy, he said.
	As above
	New Democrat MP Olivia Chow said it has been 19 years since Parliament unanimously resolved to end child poverty by the year 2000 "and yet it's the same number of children (760,000) living in poverty." She said that in the Throne Speech Nov. 19, Prime Minister Stephen Harper "did nothing to deal with poverty." Chow was one of four representative from the major political parties who attended the news conference on Parliament Hill Nov. 21 to release the Campaign 2000 annual report card on child and family poverty. The governing Conservatives did not send a representative.
	NDP MP Libby Davies said in the House of Commons Nov. 21 that Campaign 2000 "is again forced to demand urgent action to combat poverty." She said that over 760,000 children -- "nearly 12 percent of all Canadian kids" - live in poverty. During Question Period Davies also asked, "Why is there no action for the poorest of Canadians, yet there are huge tax cuts for the richest of Canada's CEOs?"


	Liberal MP Peter Milliken was re-elected as Speaker of the House as members of Parliament returned for a new session Nov. 18. Milliken, who has been Speaker since 2001, won in a lengthy contest that originally saw 16 MPs competing for the job.
	Incumbent Premier Paul Okalik (left) and veteran politician Tagak Curley were defeated by a newcomer Nov. 14 in their attempt to be Premier of Nunavut. Eva Aariak, a first-time member of the legislative assembly became Nunavut's second premier and its first female premier. Aariak, Nunavut's former languages commissioner, was chosen by secret ballot among Nunavut's 17 sitting MLAs in the Nunavut leadership forum.
	The CEOs from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler flew to Washington in private luxurious jets Nov. 18 to ask U.S. Congress for a minimum $25-billion of taxpayers' money to avoid bankruptcy, ABC news reported. All three CEOs - Rick Wagoner of GM, Alan Mulally of Ford and Robert Nardelli of Chrysler flew to D.C. in corporate jets, with Mulally flying in on GM's $36 million luxury aircraft to ask for $10-12 billion for GM alone.
	"I believe my call to ordained ministry is to try to assist women abused by clergy in my church," says Marie Bouclin, the Sudbury, Ont., former nun and high school teacher whose ordination as a Roman Catholic priest last year is not recognized as valid by the official church. Bouclin, 67, was a speaker at an ecumenical workshop at Saint Paul University in Ottawa Oct. 31, titled 'Women and Ordained Ministries.' When reports of clergy abuse began to surface in the church, she said, "there was no perceived need to care for the wounds of women who had been sexually seduced, emotionally violated and spiritually raped." She said she hopes to be an instrument to "rekindle their faith by helping them find a new understanding of the divine as loving friend and compassionate healer."
	Anglican priest the Rev. Holly Ratcliffe, said she was asked not to robe for some Roman Catholic events she attended when she was director for two years at UNITAS, an ecumenical centre for Christian meditation and spirituality in Montreal. Speaking at an ecumenical workshop at Saint Paul University in Ottawa Oct. 31, titled 'Women and Ordained Ministries,' Ratcliffe, who is rector of Christ Church Anglican Church in Sorel, Que., said that "Over time I felt increasingly ill at east and more than once was told not to robe but to sit in the congregation. I found it painful."
	Frank Mountain, the co-chair of the Natonal March for Life since its beginning, died at his home in Ottawa Oct. 31 following a lengthy illness. He was 75. The outspoken pro-life activist once called the media coverage of the natonal event "pathetic and insulting" and cancelled his subscriptions to two daily newspapers that ignored the march. His death came 20 years after a car accident en route to a pro-life picketing event in Ottawa left him a quadriplegic.
	Former Ontario NDP Premier Bob Rae says he will be a candidate for the leadership of the Liberal party. "Once the party has made up its mind on the rules, the timing, and the date and so on, I'll be making a formal announcement," he told CBC Television's Politics. Rae ran in the 2006 Liberal leadership race won by Stéphane Dion, who is stepping down when a new party leader is chosen.
	Paul Cellucci, former Governor of Massachusetts and former Ambassador to Canada, says the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States would present a "danger" to Canada. Speaking to the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute annual meeting in Ottawa Oct. 27, Cellucci said Obama could renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, imperiling the future economic integration of the continent, Canwest News Service reported.
	Scientists believe a shortage of chinook salmon on the southwestern coast of British Columbia may have led to the starvation deaths of seven orca whales, CTV news reported Nov. 1. About 200 orcas once inhabited the area between B.C.'s lower mainland and southern Vancouver Island butt the population was measured at only 90 last year, and this year only 83 whales were counted, CTV reported. The chinook salmon are at about 10 per cent of their historic numbers.