As of Jan. 7, the Rideau Canal in Ottawa had yet to live up to its billing as the longest skating rink in the world in 2007. The unseasonally warm weather has prevented the canal from freezing over. As one senior climatologist from Environment Canada observed, "Jan. 15 is usually when winter's half over -- and it hasn't even begun yet."

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada's
National Bishop, Raymond L. Schultz, has announced that he will retire Sept. 1 following the election of a successor at the 2007 National
Convention. Schultz was elected to his first term as ELCIC National Bishop at the 2001 National Convention in Waterloo, ON.

Former Treasury Board President John Baird has been appointed by  Prime Minister Stephern Harper as the new Minister of the Environment. Baird, a close ally of Harper, replaces Rona Ambrose, who is taking on the intergovernmental affairs post and will also serve as Minister of Western Economic Diversification.