Press Releases

VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Nov. 7, 2009) - The Liberal government has forced an end to the Ambulance Paramedics legal strike following an all-night session in the B.C. Legislature.

The final vote took place early this morning despite a four-day battle by the Opposition NDP to stop Bill 21 - the Ambulance Services Collective Agreement Act.

CUPE BC president Barry O'Neill called the government's action "the most gutless thing I have ever seen in the Legislature - when virtually every Liberal government MLA showed how spineless they are by refusing to speak up for workers' rights".

"That (Health Services Minister Kevin) Falcon had the nerve to stand up and claim he values the work of our ambulance paramedics and then pass this Bill was disingenuous. It's an insult to our paramedics and to all working people for them to say they respect paramedics and then vote to make this attack on the democratic rights of collective bargaining."

O'Neill said he and other labour leaders are now meeting to decide where to go from here to "make this repressive government understand that they cannot continue to trample the rights of working people."

The Bill sends 3,500 Ambulance Paramedics, members of CUPE 873, "back to work" after a seven-month strike that started on April 1. Throughout the dispute, the paramedics have been working under Essential Services orders.

Bill 21 is a shameful first in Canadian Labour history - the first time a government has forced its public employees back to work while the workers are in the middle of voting on a contract offer from that same government.

Paramedics' spokesperson BJ Chute called it "a sad day for democracy when our legal right to strike is removed but nothing has been done to end the labour dispute." He said CUPE 873 members are now even more frustrated and upset than when they were just trying to get the government to improve ambulance services.

The imposed retroactive one-year contract gives the paramedics a three-per-cent wage hike but does not address staffing, training, or equipment issues. Chute said they expect to be back at the bargaining table in less than a month from now.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
        CUPE BC
        Barry O'Neill
        President
        604.340.6768

        Ambulance Paramedics of BC
        BJ Chute
        Director of Public Education
        604.218.6169

Source: Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) - BC

MERIDA, MEXICO -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 11/07/09 -- The Honourable Jim Prentice, Canada's Environment Minister and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, today announced an unprecedented memorandum of understanding with the U.S. and Mexico to cooperate on wilderness conservation across North America. The announcement was made at the 9th World Wilderness Congress (Wild 9) in Mexico, where the Minister delivered a keynote speech on Canadian leadership in wildlife conservation.

"This memorandum of understanding with the U.S. and Mexico to cooperate on wilderness conservation will lead to tangible benefits for wilderness and our protected places," said Minister Prentice. "We will be working towards common goals of building and restoring resilient, well-connected networks of protected areas that will be a wilderness legacy for the future."

Minister Prentice was invited to speak at the international congress in recognition of the Government's stewardship in the massive expansion of Nahanni National Park Reserve of Canada, a World Heritage Site and the 6th largest national park in the world.

The public, international environmental forum is designed to bring together the full spectrum of wilderness-related views and is being attended by representatives from government, the private sector, native peoples, non-governmental organizations, academia and the arts.

The Government of Canada has permanently protected a massive expansion of the Nahanni National Park Reserve of Canada - the greatest conservation achievement in a generation. In addition, the Government has declared new wilderness areas in Waterton Lakes National Park of Canada, Fundy National Park of Canada, Vuntut National Park of Canada, and the Nahanni and permanently protected Saoyu and AEehdacho National Historic Site of Canada on the shores of Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories.

(Also available on the Internet at www.pc.gc.ca under Media Room.)

Contacts:
Office of the Minister of the Environment
Frederic Baril
Press Secretary
819-997-1441

Media Relations
National Corporate Communications Branch
Parks Canada
819-994-3023

MERIDA, MEXICO--(Marketwire - Nov. 7, 2009) - The Honourable Jim Prentice, Canada's Environment Minister and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, today announced an unprecedented memorandum of understanding with the U.S. and Mexico to cooperate on wilderness conservation across North America. The announcement was made at the 9th World Wilderness Congress (Wild 9) in Mexico, where the Minister delivered a keynote speech on Canadian leadership in wildlife conservation.

"This memorandum of understanding with the U.S. and Mexico to cooperate on wilderness conservation will lead to tangible benefits for wilderness and our protected places," said Minister Prentice. "We will be working towards common goals of building and restoring resilient, well-connected networks of protected areas that will be a wilderness legacy for the future."

Minister Prentice was invited to speak at the international congress in recognition of the Government's stewardship in the massive expansion of Nahanni National Park Reserve of Canada, a World Heritage Site and the 6th largest national park in the world.

The public, international environmental forum is designed to bring together the full spectrum of wilderness-related views and is being attended by representatives from government, the private sector, native peoples, non-governmental organizations, academia and the arts.

The Government of Canada has permanently protected a massive expansion of the Nahanni National Park Reserve of Canada - the greatest conservation achievement in a generation. In addition, the Government has declared new wilderness areas in Waterton Lakes National Park of Canada, Fundy National Park of Canada, Vuntut National Park of Canada, and the Nahanni and permanently protected Saoyu and AEehdacho National Historic Site of Canada on the shores of Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories.

(Also available on the Internet at www.pc.gc.ca under Media Room.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
        Office of the Minister of the Environment
        Frederic Baril
        Press Secretary
        819-997-1441

        Media Relations
        National Corporate Communications Branch
        Parks Canada
        819-994-3023

Source: Parks Canada

SHANKSVILLE, Pa., Nov. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At a solemn ceremony in a remote Pennsylvania field, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar marked the groundbreaking and start of construction for the permanent Flight 93 National Memorial. The national memorial pays tribute to the passengers and crew of United Flight 93 which plunged to earth as the heroic 40 men and women resisted terrorists seeking to attack our nation's capital on September 11, 2001.

The Interior Secretary, whose efforts led to agreements between the federal government and the private owners of properties needed for the construction of the permanent Flight 93 National Memorial, was joined by Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell, U.S. Senator Bob Casey, members of the Families of Flight 93, and officials representing the National Park Service (NPS), the National Park Foundation (NPF), the Flight 93 Advisory Commission and the Flight 93 Memorial Task Force.

Four young relatives of the Flight 93 heroes -- Justin Nacke, Campbell Peterson, Peyton Peterson and Sarah Wainio -- joined Secretary Salazar and the others in taking shovels in hand to "turn the earth" and symbolically begin this new phase for the Flight 93 National Memorial. (Justin Nacke is a nephew of passenger Louis "Joey" Nacke II, Campbell and Peyton Peterson are grandchildren of passengers Donald and Jean Peterson, and Sarah Wainio is a sister of passenger Honor Elizabeth Wainio.)

Individuals whose lives were touched by the Flight 93 tragedy or who are connected to the Flight 93 National Memorial's creation served as witnesses to the poignant ceremony. They included local elected officials, first responders, NPS Flight 93 Ambassadors, supporters of the Flight 93 National Memorial capital campaign, memorial design architect Paul Murdoch and Randy Musser, one of the private landowners.

The groundbreaking is a key milestone in the creation of the Flight 93 National Memorial. The goal of a November groundbreaking was first laid out in the February 20, 2009 Letter of Commitment signed by U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, Governor Rendell and representatives of Senator Casey, the NPS, the NPF, the Flight 93 Advisory Commission and the Flight 93 Memorial Task Force to ensure that the Flight 93 National Memorial is dedicated by September 11, 2011.

"Today's milestone shows that we remain on a path to dedicating the Flight 93 National Memorial by September 11, 2011. We are keeping the commitment we made in memory of our loved ones. We extend our gratitude to Secretary Salazar, our elected officials, and our other memorial partners for all they have done to bring us to this important occasion," said Gordon Felt, president, Families of Flight 93.

"Today's participants have played a significant role in the history of the Flight 93 National Memorial. Today we begin a new chapter in that history, as we move forward toward completing a lasting national memorial that honors the 40 passengers and crew, and educates future generations about their heroic actions," said John Reynolds, chairman, Flight 93 Advisory Commission.

"Today we mark how far we have come, and reinvest our strength in completing our journey to reach our common goal. We shall continue our work so we can in full measure return to dedicate the Flight 93 National Memorial by the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks," said Flight 93 Memorial Task Force co-chair Jerry Spangler.

"We join all the Flight 93 memorial partners in thanking people from all corners of the world who continue to generously provide the resources necessary for the completion of the Flight 93 National Memorial. Today's groundbreaking marks the beginning of our efforts to complete funding for a fitting national memorial and is a sign of our absolute commitment to ensuring its timely construction," said Neil Mulholland, president and CEO, National Park Foundation.

The Flight 93 National Memorial is the only national park unit dedicated to the events of September 11, 2001. On September 24, 2002, the Flight 93 National Memorial Act became law creating a new national park and memorial dedicated to the 40 passenger and crew members of United Flight 93. The national memorial's mission is to protect and honor the mortal remains of these heroes on the Sacred Ground where the plane hit the earth. The Flight 93 National Memorial will ensure that people understand and learn about the events of the tragic day.

The memorial park sits on 2,231 acres in Somerset County, approximately 80 miles outside of Pittsburgh. The permanent Flight 93 National Memorial will include the crash site, debris field and extent of human remains -- the final resting places of the heroes -- as well as visitor facilities, infrastructure and access roadways. The design by Paul Murdoch Architects of Los Angeles -- a firm known for its environmental design sensitivity -- was chosen in 2005 after an international competition that included more than 1,000 entries.

The cost of the first phase of the Flight 93 National Memorial, which includes a viewing plaza overlooking the sacred ground, an adjacent field of honor, a visitor center, 40 groves of memorial trees, landscaping, and road work and infrastructure, is $58 million of which $30 million will be paid through private contributions. The balance is obtained through federal and state funds. Since 2005, more than 55,000 donors -- both large and small from across the nation and around the world -- have raised over $16 million.

For more information and progress updates about the Flight 93 National Memorial, please visit www.nps.gov/flni or www.honorflight93.org.

SOURCE Flight 93 Memorial Partners

VANCOUVER, Nov. 7 /PRNewswire/ - The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay, presented by Coca-Cola and RBC and supported by the Government of Canada, began its amazing Canadian journey Oct. 30th in Victoria, BC. Fifteen well-known world citizens are adding global intrigue and excitement to the longest domestic torch relay in Olympic history by participating as Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torchbearers. The first runner kicked off the program on Nov. 1.

This video package, the first in a series, includes footage of the beginning of the flame's trip in Greece, day one Torch celebrations in Victoria BC, including a ride in a first nations canoe, crowds and atmosphere, dignitaries and the first Torch bearers Catriona Le May Doan and Simon Whitfield. Footage also introduces destination locations where the Torch will be carried by the world citizens nominated by VANOC in collaboration with the Canadian Tourism Commission.

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STATIONS, FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL:

    John Parker-Jervis
    Senior Media Advisor, 2010 Media Relations
    Canadian Tourism Commission
    Tel 604 377-4358
    parker-jervis.john@ctc-cct.ca

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