Man’s best friend, bacteria’s worst enemy

VANCOUVER, CANADA:

Hospital ID badge dangling from his neck, Angus considered the empty bed in front of him. After a few strong sniffs, he moved on.

Nearing the next bed, his floppy ears perked up before he stopped dead in his tracks, tapping his paw and eyeing his handler expectantly.

The two-year-old English springer spaniel is believed to be the only canine hospital employee in the world trained to sniff out the notorious superbug Clostridium difficile, or C difficile.

The seeds of Angus’ unlikely career were planted three years ago, after Teresa Zurberg, a Vancouver resident, suffered a C difficile infection. Her bout with the bacteria which attacks people whose immune systems have been weakened by

Google Doodle honours inventor of worldwide standard time

New Delhi: Google has honored Sandford Fleming, a Canadian inventor and engineer of Scottish birth known for his invention of worldwide standard time, with a Doodle.

“Today’s Doodle reflects Fleming’s legacy on this, the 190th anniversary of his birth,” Google said in a statement on Saturday.

It is widely believed that Fleming missing a train in Ireland due to a mistake printed in a timetable ultimately led to his brilliant idea that altered time as we know it.

Fleming was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, in 1827. This was a period when regions used solar time to set their own clocks.

Solar time worked well enough until trains came along and the need for standardised time arose.

Following his missed train in 1876, Fleming proposed a worldwide standard time at a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute on February, 8, 1879.

He advocated for dividing the world into 24 time zones beginning at the Greenwich Meridian and spaced at 15 degree intervals.

His proposal gave way to the International Prime Meridian Conference which convened in 1884 and was attended by 25 nations.

It was here that Fleming’s system of international standard time was adopted.

Fleming was also known for helping build the Intercontinental Railway, serving as chief engineer of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and designing Canada’s first postage stamp.

Nova Scotia to close public schools as teachers take job action

All Nova Scotia public schools will be closed Monday as the Liberal government throws a wrench into teacher plans to take job action over recently failed contract negotiations.

Education Minister Karen Casey has decided to close schools province-wide but teachers are still expected to report to work, she told reporters at a press conference Saturday morning.

She said the province is not locking out teachers. The Liberal government says it intends to try to impose a collective agreement on the union.

Teachers in the province are getting ready to begin work-to-rule job action starting Monday morning, which will change the regular school activities for students across the province.

'Unsafe environment'

The Nova Scotia Teachers Union has directed educators to only go to school 20 minutes before class and leave 20 minutes after class, and not volunteer to supervise breaks.

The union has said it is taking precautions for student safety, like having principals available, but the province has disagreed.

"Job actions could put students in unsafe environment," Casey said.

"Students could be left unsupervised. That's unacceptable."

MLAs called back

The Liberal provincial government will enact legislation to remove some of teachers' ability to work-to-rule.

The Nova Scotia House of Assembly also has been recalled for Monday "respecting the public interest," the speaker said in a release.

Casey said teachers are expected to work, and as soon as legislation passes, "they'll be back to work as usual."

"This is clearly about the supervision of students and ensuring the safety of students on the school grounds," Casey said.

"It's unfortunate that this is what is needed, but it's fortunate we can do what's needed at this point in time."

The teachers are in a contract dispute with the Nova Scotia government after talks broke off more than a week ago.

The province is live streaming the announcement. 

Canadian PM Trudeau Says He'll Work Closely With Trump

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed Wednesday to work "very closely" with President-elect Donald Trump.

The Liberal prime minister told students at an event in Ottawa that he will work with Trump not just for Canadians "but for the whole world." He earlier offered his congratulations in a statement and said Canada has no closer ally and partner than the United States.

But Trudeau's openness to trade, refugees and the environment stands in stark contrast to Trump. Of particular concern to Canada is Trump's vow to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. A spokeswoman for Trudeau said the prime minister would not be taking questions from the media on Wednesday.

Trudeau told the students he sees a message in the election. Trump awakened a movement of angry working-class voters.

"The fact is, we've heard clearly from Canadians and from Americans that people want a shared shot at success," Trudeau said. "We share a purpose, our two countries, where we want to build places where the middle class and those working hard to join it have a chance."

A positive for Canada could be the eventual approval of the Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to the U.S. Gulf Coast. President Obama nixed it but Trump supports the pipeline but has said he wants a share of the profits.

Brad Wall, premier of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, noted Trump's support for Keystone XL.

"And with Republican majorities in both the House and Senate, I am hopeful that this important project will move ahead quickly," Wall said in a statement. "On the other hand, I hope he reconsiders his plan to end the North American Free Trade Agreement."

The Canadian government confirmed Wednesday the website for Citizenship and Immigration Canada became temporarily inaccessible Tuesday night as a result of a significant increase in the volume of traffic as election returns favored Trump.

Internet searches for "move to Canada" and "immigrate to Canada" spiked Tuesday night and "Canada" was a leading U.S. trend on Twitter, with more than 1 million tweets. Some Americans had vowed previously to move north when George W. Bush was re-elected president in 2004 but few, if any, did.

Iran releases Canadian-Iranian professor held since June

Muscat: A Canadian-Iranian retired professor was released from prison on “humanitarian grounds” and flown out of Iran on Monday, Iran’s state-run news agency said, ending her months of detention alongside other dual nationals swept up by hardliners in the security services.

Dr Homa Hoodfar was flown to Oman, the brief report from the Irna news agency said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hailed her release in a statement, thanking Italy, Switzerland and Oman for their help in the matter.

Oman said on Monday that it had

Marc Wabafiyebazu, Canadian diplomat's son, deported from Florida

A teenager caught up in a double shooting in Florida that left his older brother dead has been quietly deported to Canada following a remarkable standoff between U.S. federal authorities and the state judge who sentenced him.

American immigration agents escorted Marc Wabafiyebazu from Miami to Montreal earlier this month where he was reunited with his mother, Roxanne Dube, The Canadian Press has learned.

Two dead in Canada helicopter crash

Montreal: Two people died and another was injured Sunday after a helicopter collided with power lines in eastern Canada, police said.

The aircraft, which was carrying only three people, crashed to the ground and then ultimately into a body of water, New Brunswick Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokesman Corporal Dan Smith said.

“The helicopter collided with some power lines in what’s known as the Flatlands area of New