Twenty-five years ago I was a student at the Université de Montreal. It was December 6, 1989, and it was a cold, frigid Montreal day. At about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, I finished my last class before the mid-year exams. Normally I'd go to the library, study and head over to the main cafeteria, the one in the Polytechnique, for a bite to eat. But I didn't go to the library, and I didn't go to the cafeteria. I decided to go straight home. I had a big assignment to submit the next day and was determined to get it done. The next morning, the news of the murders shattered my orderly world.
What is less talked about when discussing Montreal Massacre, and as equally important, is the rights of women to choose a profession which is considered male dominated. The December 6 event had played an important role in women in STEM. As of today, the number of women in STEM fields is significantly lower than men.
On December 6, 1989 a 25-year-old man armed with a rifle and a hunting knife, killed 14 women studying at the technical college before turning the gun on himself. He said that his motives were to fight feminism. It's easy for us to sit back and pretend that women aren't being killed because of their sex nowadays. But the fact of the matter is, it continues to happen.
A recent Canadian study of women living with HIV aims to break this glass ceiling, shedding important light on what opportunities exist and what barriers persist towards closing the gap for women living with HIV, a highly underserved community both in Canada and around the world.
Despite government statements that Canada has done "more than any of our allies," our allies have introduced smart humanitarian policies that have moved far more Syrians abroad than anything Ottawa has yet introduced. Canada can look to them - Germany, Sweden, Norway, Brazil and more - for inspiration.
Because there is so much shame associated with not having positive holiday times, most people don't talk openly about how difficult this time of year can be for them. This can lead to intense feelings of loneliness and disappointment. And when any form of addiction is thrown into the mix, this season of the year can be anything but jolly.
While the government has talked the talk on taxes, it has yet to walk the walk. In fact, the fiscal update announced additional tax increases including plans to levy a temporary (until 2017) increase to payroll taxes on financial institutions such as banks and credit unions.
When the gunman, a rejected engineering student, shot those young women he was enraged that they were pursuing studies in a profession he believed was meant for men. That was a quarter of a century ago. Today, more and more women are flooding into professions, including engineering, once considered male preserves, but there is still so much more progress to be made in changing those attitudes that enable gender-based violence.
For every act of violence against women, society pays a price in lost productivity, worse health outcomes, and, lost potential. Respect for all women and equality is essential. We need to put the same energy into denouncing the violence in Canada, as we do abroad.
It is truly remarkable to see the numbers of people who had the opportunity to cross paths with the late Montreal Canadians hockey legend Jean Beliveau. Modest and selfless, this consummate gentleman has been described as one of the country's greatest sports ambassadors both on and off the ice.
Here are some hand-picked gifts from beautiful local shops in Montréal that will have your loved ones saying "Bonjour, Hi!" and help you stay zen as well. Let's keep the season centered, shall we?
If Stephen Harper wants to boost tourism, why has his administration cancelled all advertising for Canada in the U.S. market? Every step he has taken (slashing access for seasonal workers to EI, cutting the programmes to allow visitors to claim back their GST and HST, and ending our advertising in the U.S.) appear geared to undermine the tourism sector. And our national parks are to be sacrificed to take up the slack.
I have them. You have them. There's nothing foreign or particularly shocking about them. So why, in 2014, are we still faced with so much controversy over the nipple? When will we finally acknowledge they're just nipples?
Six years ago, my husband Matthew was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiform, the most common and deadliest of brain cancers. As Matthew's primary caregiver, I've come to recognize that coping in the face of a terminal illness is a learned skill, and sometimes it takes a lot of trial and error to figure out what works.
There is a great deal of debate about whether or not technology will revolutionize education. To me the debate itself points out a problem. With the number of free and low-cost educational resources that technology has made available it should have, at least to an extent. The fact that it hasn't points to a problem with the system overall.
With the holiday season fast approaching, sticking to your health and nutrition goals can feel next to impossible! But believe it or not, you can survive this social season without the burden of those extra pounds come January 1. Here are some tips to help you tackle the common culprits and still enjoy your favorite holiday treats!
Closing this access gap means expanding health systems to include grassroots outreach and the community-level advocates who lead the charge. It is well documented that village-level and even home-based HIV testing greatly improve rates of testing. The same is true for HIV education, counselling, and treatment follow-up.
I'll tell you how to throw a tandoori party, with a handful of spices, meats and skewers sure to add colour, dazzle and spice to the meal. And before you have a panic attack at the thought of using complicated spices, I'm going to assure you that it's really easy.
At the end of November, the Egyptian court dropped corruption charges against Hosni Mubarak, former president of Egypt, who was alleged to have stolen an estimated $1.2 billion from the country. This turn of events now means that one more despot has been allowed to steal from his own citizens and not face any consequences.
Without a thorough understanding of your audience, an understanding of who they are, what their challenges are, and why they've come to hear you speak, your story -- and your speech -- will fall short of having the impact that can really engage them. The best content, the best stories, the best experience means nothing if the audience doesn't relate to it.
That image of the family sitting at Christmas dinner, everyone smiling at each other and the ideal turkey perfectly placed on the platter, can quickly become a great disappointment if we make perfection our goal. If you want to get more out of the holidays you can follow a few simple guidelines that will assist you in staying grounded and present during the season.
I thought for a while that work tires me out more than it used to because I'm getting older, that I just don't have as much energy as I used to. But, um, I'm 31. I'm not exactly shaking hands with the dude in the black cloak.
I took this trip because of a perpetual heartache I felt, a lack of connectivity with myself and with the world. I needed to step out of my comfort zone and decided to do that halfway across the world. And there is where I found a tribe of individuals who felt exactly the same way.