Canada’s future Governor General, Acadian Roméo LeBlanc was born on this date in New Brunswick, in 1927k. This led him to journalism where LeBlanc served with distinction at Radio Canada bureaus in the UK, the United States and in Ottawa. Later, he served as press secretary to both Prime Minister Lester Pearson and Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. In late 1994 PM Jean Chrétien recommended to Her Majesty LeBlanc’s appointment as Canada’s 25th Governor General. In Vice Regal office, LeBlanc put a special emphasis on volunteerism and the teaching of Canadian history, establishing awards in both areas.

Iran on Sunday faced calls from celebrities and rights groups to free actor Taraneh Alidoosti, one of the most prominent figures yet arrested in its crackdown on the three-month protest movement. “The brave actress of Iran got arrested,” fellow actor Golshifteh Farahani wrote on Instagram. The New York-based Centre for Human Rights in Iran said “women are being arrested and jailed in Iran for refusing to wear forced hijabs, including prominent actress Taraneh Alidoosti. Alidoosti’s most recent social media post was on December 8, the same day Mohsen Shekari, 23, became the first person executed by authorities over the protests. Iran’s top security body, the Supreme National Security Council, said on December 3 that more than 200 people had been killed in the street violence, including security personnel.

Le restaurant Verre Pickl’, qui a pignon sur l'avenue Maguire, à Québec, a subi ce phénomène à la dure vendredi soir. Après deux ans de pandémie, des restaurateurs misent sur la période des Fêtes pour vivre de leur passion. Cette situation est d'autant plus difficile que des dizaines de groupes avaient tenté de réserver vendredi soir à ce restaurant. On le sent ailleurs aussi : on a des collègues qui ont vécu la même chose cette semaine et la semaine passée. Contrairement à d'autres restaurants, le Verre Pickl’ ne demande pas un dédommagement aux clients advenant des annulations.

Krystal Alexander has so far filled 14 gift bags with help from the Labrador West community. (Submitted by Krystal Alexander - image credit)Submitted by Krystal AlexanderA Labrador City woman is looking to help single dads and low-income fathers this holiday season after seeing a gap in community supports. Alexander says she wasn't able to find similar programs for low-income or single fathers so she decided to organize one herself. Krystal Alexander says she now has 14 dads signed up to receive a free gift bag. Alexander had a few fathers in mind and posted an appeal on social media to have people anonymously message her with other candidates, whether they were single fathers or low-income earners.

A special weather statement for Metro Vancouver, Howe Sound, and Whistler warned of periods of snow throughout the weekend. Environment Canada issued a range of special weather statements and weather warnings across British Columbia on Saturday, warning of unseasonably cold temperatures and snowfall. The amounts were an increase from forecasts made in special weather statements earlier Saturday. A special weather statement issued for Whistler also warned of periods of snow throughout the weekend. An Arctic front will bring unseasonably cold temperatures to the region starting Sunday.

The tech bro era of social media is in flames. Instagram is losing cultural relevance as it is also struggling to compete with TikTok, in part because that latter app isn’t social media, but more akin to TV. In a sense, social media has been a global experiment: let’s unleash an entirely new mode of disseminating information, socializing, and consuming media and see what happens! Social media are dominated by what are called network effects: you go or stay where the people in your network are, which encourages a sort of stickiness. As we head into a new year, it may well be time to consider fanning the flames burning social media.

In 2015-16, the last year before Trudeau's reforms to the Red Chamber, Senate expenditures were $74.5 million. (Hallie Cotnam/CBC)The number of bureaucrats working in the Red Chamber has gone up more than 30 per cent in just five years. The spike in Senate costs has also outpaced the growth in expenses at the House of Commons. The elected body has seen its costs increase by about 40 per cent over the same seven-year time period, according to figures published in the public accounts. The increase in costs has been driven largely by Senate administration — the public servants attached to the upper house.

Take the call for a "30 by 30" target of protecting 30 per cent of the world's land and marine areas by 2030. The Amazon program director for Stand.earth said it's not realistic for wealthy countries to demand that countries like hers prioritize creating and paying for new protected areas. Story continuesIn the early hours of Wednesday, a group of developing nations — frustrated over how the discussions were progressing — walked out of the talks. Walkout prompts wealthy countries to put up more moneyCanadian Tim Hodges is a veteran of these major gatherings. "It's really about developed countries versus developing countries," said Hodges, describing the major tensions underlying the current talks.

“She wanted to change that by presenting Indian food as healthy, tantalizing with spice flavours and with a modern flair,” her daughter, Preena Chauhan, says. “We show them shortcuts, tips and tricks on how to make Indian cooking easier to save time without compromising on flavour,” Preena says. Over their decades as teachers, the Chauhans collected all the common questions about Indian cooking that came up repeatedly. Included among the standout recipes is the chocolate orange and vanilla cardamom barfi, an update of a traditional Indian dessert. Here, Preena shares her go-to spots for more traditional Indian favourites, plus a few places creating fun, Indian-inspired delights.

Make that two records Saturday for Team Canada’s only rookie at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in Melbourne, Australia. Canada has nine medals (2G-2S-5B) after Day 5 of the six-day meet at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre. Defending champion Maggie Mac Neil, fresh off her 50-m backstroke world record swim Friday, went 55.83 in her semi to earn the third seed. It was a double for Mac Neil, who swam the women’s 4×50-m medley relay about a half hour earlier in the session. The team of Kylie Masse, Sydney Pickrem, Mac Neil and Taylor Ruck combined for a time of 1:43.56 to finish fourth.

Friendly rivals: with EV tensions in past, Canada poised to compete with biggest allyWASHINGTON — Friends, partners, allies — and rivals. Biden's panic-inducing plan to energize electric-vehicle sales brought Canada and Mexico into the tent at the 11th hour. "We both co-operate with the United States, our closest ally, and we compete in the economic arena. "It's in Canada's interest to co-operate as much as we can, but where we need to compete, we do so." That means that Canada needs to step up and be able to compete with that, or else we can get left behind."

The 2022 Canadian Cannabis Survey provides important insights into Canadians' knowledge, attitudes and behaviours on cannabis useOTTAWA, ON, Dec. 16, 2022 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada collects data to better understand how Canadians view and use cannabis. Today, Health Canada published the results of the 2022 Canadian Cannabis Survey. Health Canada has conducted the Canadian Cannabis Survey every year since 2017. The 2022 survey is the sixth cycle of the survey, and data were collected from April to June 2022. Related ProductsAssociated LinksSOURCE Health CanadaFor further information: Contacts: Media Relations: Health Canada, 613-957-2983, [email protected]; Public Inquiries: 613-957-2991, 1-866-225-0709

This is the Toronto Star’s 24 favourite albums of 2022. Richie’s Favourite Albums of 2022Over the course of a decade, Alex G has evolved from a lo-fi bedroom prodigy into one of indie rock’s most reliable — and inscrutable — experimentalists. Demar’s Favourite Albums of 2022The second album in The Weeknd’s second trilogy, “Dawn FM” is an escape from this mortal plane. Annette’s Favourite Albums of 2022H-Town’s finest made her much-anticipated return with “Renaissance” — a love letter to the Black LGBTQ+ community. Aisling’s Favourite Albums of 2022It’s just kept growing on me.

are calling for more police action to support victims of domestic violence after the shooting death of a Coquitlam woman who had a protection order against her ex-husband. "The only way that the protection order matters is if police enforce it," she said. "Coquitlam RCMP takes all protection orders seriously and complaints regarding the violation of those orders are investigated," an RCMP spokesperson wrote in an email. At both locations, a banner reading, "She had a protection order; He killed her anyway" was hung. "What we commonly see … is that women are really having to fight not only to get a protection order but also to enforce the protection orders that some women are granted," Grey said.

The Ford government’s controversial new process for selecting the next provincial court chief justice is “defective,” says a former top judge, while a legal expert said it presents a “glaring red flag” and highlights the need for an independent appointment system. It’s a long-standing convention that only the chief justice speaks with the executive on matters impacting the court, ensuring the separation between the executive and judicial branches of government. That’s what former Ontario Court Chief Justice Brian Lennox did as his eight-year term came to an end in 2007. “The chief justice does not have a comment on what she has communicated to the attorney general,” the court said in a brief statement to the Star on Friday. People have to trust the judicial system.”Liberal attorney general critic Lucille Collard described the process as “another authoritarian move against our democracy” by the government.