october

	Leona Aglukkaq, the newly elected Conservative MP for Nunavut, has become the first Inuk to hold a senior cabinet position in the Canadian government.The former health minister for Nunavut was sworn in at a ceremony Oct. 30 at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. She was one of 11 women named to the 38-member cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
	Lawrence Cannon was shifted from transport to foreign affairs in the new, larger cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
	Veteran western MP Jason Kenney was promoted to the post of Immigration and Citizenship Minister in the Harper cabinet shuffle Oct. 30.
	Calgarian Diane Ablonczy earned a spot in the 38-member cabinet of Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, becoming Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism.
	Rona Ambrose, who had been the minister of Intergovernmental Affairs after receiving what was seen as a demotion from Environment, was resurrected as Labour Minister in the re-shuffled cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
	Bishop John Chapman, the Anglican Bishop of Ottawa, wants to begin same-sex blessings in his diocese and will seek approval from the Canadian House of Bishops at its meetingg Oct. 27-31. If approved, the diocese of Ottawa could become the second Anglican diocese in Canada to bless same-sex marriages. The Diocese of New Westminster approved the blessings in 2002.
	Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin of the Supreme Court of Canada, and her husband, Frank, were among the hundreds who attended a fundraising concert for St. Jude's Cathedral in the Arctic, held in Christ Church Anglican Cathedral in Ottawa Oct. 26. The Arctic cathedral was destroyed by fire in 2006. Also at the fundraiser, emcee'd by CBC News senior Parliamentary Editor Don Newman and his wife, Shannon Day Newman, were federal cabinet ministers Chuck Strahl (Indian Affairs) and Jim Prentice (Industry), House of Commons Speaker Peter Milliken, Leona Aglukkaq, the newly elected Conservative MP for Nunavut and all three bishops of the Anglican Diocese of the Arctic, Larry Robertson, Ben Arreak (regional bishops), and diocesan bishop Andrew Atagotaaluk.
	Leona Aglukkaq, the newly elected Conservative MP for Nunavut, is flanked by CBC News senior Parliamentary Editor Don Newman and his wife, Shannon Day Newman during a break at the fundraising concert for St. Jude's Cathedral in the Arctic, held in Christ Church Anglican Cathedral in Ottawa Oct. 26. The Arctic cathedral was destroyed by fire in 2006. Among those attending the concert were Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin of the Supreme Court of Canada, and her husband, Frank.
	Anglican Bishop Andrew Atagotaaluk (right) along with his two regional bishops in the Anglican Diocese of the Arctic, Larry Robertson, (left) and Ben Arreak (middle) attended the fundraising concert for St. Jude's Cathedral in the Arctic, held in Christ Church Anglican Cathedral in Ottawa Oct. 26.
	Andrew Atagotaaluk, Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of the Arctic, thanks the entertainers and hundreds of guests who attended the fundraising concert at Christ Church Cathedral, Ottawa, in support of St. Jude's Cathedral in the Arctic, destroyed by fire in 2006.
	Maude Barlow, the national chairperson of the Council of Canadians and founder of the Blue Planet Project, has been appointed as the first Senior Advisor on water issues by Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, President of the 63rd session of the United Nations. "I am excited for the year ahead, and am pleased to note that President d’Escoto has already adopted the call for water to be recognized as a human right,"said Barlow.

	The 'Meltdown Summit' The so-called Group of 20 world leaders, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper, will attend a meeting in Washington Nov. 15 on the global economic crisis. They were invited by U.S. President George Bush in an effort to come to grips with the financial-sector meltdown.
	New Brunswick dermatologist, Dr. Dana Hanson, a past-president of the Canadian Medical Association, has been elected as president of the World Medical Association. Hanson, was elected Oct. 20 at the WMA's annual general assembly in Seoul, South Korea. He is the first Canadian in four decades to head the WMA.
	Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion announced Oct. 20 that he will step down after a leadership convention.His party suffered one of its biggest election defeats in party history in the federal election on Oct. 14.
	Hallowe'en 'overkill?' An Ottawa residence is already adorned with various monsters, ghosts, skeletons and devils as it prepares to 'welcome' youngsters on their rounds on Hallowe'en.
	The natural beauty of Webster's Falls near Hamilton, Ont, is accentuated Oct. 18 by the colours of autumn in the trees above and the colours of the rainbow at its base. The curtain waterfall is 22 metres high and is located in the Spencer Gorge/Webster's Falls Conservation area.
	Conservative Leader Stephen Harper predicted a minority government in the Oct. 14 federal election. "The next government will probably be a minority, Liberal or Conservative," Harper said two days before the election. A Canadian Press/Harris-Decima poll released the same day suggested the Tories had 35 per cent of national support while the Liberals were at 26 per cent.
	Former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour has defended the decision to award controversial abortion rights activist Henry Morgentaler the Order of Canada. Arbour, who also received the Order along with Morgentaler and several others at a ceremony in Quebec City Oct. 11. "I think he represents values that Canadians should be happy to celebrate: courage, passion, dedication, personal service to a cause that obviously has been a controversial one," she said, the Canadian Press reported. A small group of pro-life demonstrators protested outside the Citadel where Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean presented the awards. Roman Catholic Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton denounced the award for Morgentaler in a statement Oct. 10. "As I have already said, I am deeply troubled that we would give our highest civilian honour to one who has dedicated his career to the termination of our weakest and most vulnerable brothers and sisters, namely the unborn."
	Military officials say the Tutor jets used by the Canadian Forces Snowbirds aerobatics team are safe, despite a deadly crash in Saskatchewan that killed a pilot and military photographer Oct. 9. Col. Paul Keddy, the base commander, says Tutor jets owned by the Canadian Forces are the most well-maintained aircraft in the world. However, he said flying operations have been suspended during an investigation into the tragedy, the Canadian Press reported.
	Mountain lions -- or cougars as they are also known -- appear to be travelling farther than originally thought. A mountain lion wearing a radio collar from South Dakota was recently killed about 950 kilometres away in Saskatoon, the Associated Press reported Oct. 9. Police in Saskatoon killed the cougar in a residential area because of the threat to public safety. Four years ago, a collared lion from the Black Hills of South Dakatoa reportedly travelled more than 1,000 kilometres to Oklahoma.
	The small MacLaren Cemetery near Wakefield, Que., is the burial place of two prominent Canadians -- Former Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957, and renowned landscape photographer Malak Karsh. Pearson spent many summers in Wakefield, while Karsh, originally from Turkey, decided after he saw the fall colours in Canada for the first time in his life, that he would never be a portrait photographer like his famous brother, Yousuf, who is buried in Notre Dame Cemetery in Ottawa.
	The flag-draped gravestone of former Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson in the MacLaren Cemetery near Wakefield, Que.
	The grave of renowned landscape photographer Malak Karsh in the MacLaren Cemetery near Wakefield, Que.
	It was autumn scenes such as this one not far from his gravesite near Wakefield, Que., that may have prompted renowned landscape photographer Malak Karsh to declare that he would never be a portrait photographer like his famous brother, Yousuf.
	A large crowd turned out at Dominion-Chalmers United Church in Ottawa Oct. 6 for a well-publicized all-party federal election debate on poverty and inequality but the governing Conservative Party was a no show. Calls of "Shame, shame" rang through the church when it was announced that "The conservative party has decided not to send a party spokesperson." The debate was sponsored by a 34 group coalition that included national church organizations such as KAIROS (Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives), the Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph of Canada, and Mennonite Central Committee Canada.

	The governing Conservative Party declined to send a representative to the all-party federal election debate on poverty and equality in Ottawa Oct. 6 drawing boos and cries of "Shame shame" from those in attendance. The representatives of the major parties who took part in the debate are, from left, Jen Hunter, Green, Martha Hall Findlay, Liberal, Francoise Boivin, NDP, and Réal Ménard, Bloc Québécois. The event was sponsored by 34 organizations including KAIROS (Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives), the Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph of Canada, and Mennonite Central Committee Canada.
	Canadians have heard very little in the current election campaign about meeting the needs of the poor, says Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada. Speaking to a gathering at the anti-poverty monument outside Ottawa City Hall Oct. 6 in advance of an all-party debate on poverty at a nearby church, Neve said, "Let’s get serious about tackling and ending poverty here in canada and around the world." He added, "Let’s press our leaders at all levels of government to come forward with serious plans of action for doing just that and, absolutely, let’s hear from those who are contesting the current election just how they would address poverty in this country."