News Shorts

By Kristina “ae

HST: on the way?

Bill 9 was approved Friday in the
B.C. Legislature, effectively ridding
taxpayers of the PST, but also clearing
the way for the HST, slated to come
into effect July 1.

The NDP however, insists that the
fight isn’t over until July 1. The NDP
caucus is continuing to support Bill
Vander Zalm’s “Fight HST” Initiative.

Fuck Cancer

FUCK
CANCER

Like most successful campaigns, it
started completely serendipitously. Yael
Cohen printed a t-shirt complete with
the slogan “Fuck Cancer” last summer
for her mother who was recovering
from breast cancer. She wore the shirt
everywhere. And everywhere she went,
the statement was noticed.

The simple, but incredibly clear
message intended to make her mom
laugh, soon became a global campaign.
Money from the sale of the t-shirts
goes directly to cancer research and to
programs for cancer patients.

For more information or to order
yours, go to LetsFCancer.com.

 

Ignetieff calls for stay of Jean’s term
Governor General Michaelle Jean’s
term as Governor General of Canada
is slated to end in September after five
years of service. Liberal leader Michael
Ignatieff publically backed an extension
of Jean’s term Sunday, though the
Governor General is appointed by the
Prime Minister. The Prime Minister
is also the only one that can choose to
extend a Governor General’s term.

Ignetieff said that he couldn’t
imagine a better role model for young
Canadians, also commending Jean on
her work on behalf of Haiti.

Other candidates for the position
currently include celebrities such as
William Shatner and Mary Walsh.

 

 

Pr de

 

B.C. government imposes toughest drunk driving laws in Canada

 

Tanya Colledge

staff reporter

ith impaired driving on the increase in
\ X | British Columbia, the B.C. government
has decided that additional penalties are
necessary to deter people from getting behind the
wheel when they’ ve been drinking.

The revised drinking and driving rules state that
drivers caught with a blood alcohol level between 0.05
per cent and 0.08 per cent, which would currently earn
them a 24-hour suspension, will now face a three-day
driving ban. In addition, drivers will be charged fees
up to $600 and possible vehicle impoundment. Repeat
offenders will now face a month suspension and fines
up to $800.

The government has also increased penalties
for drivers found above the 0.8 blood-alcohol limits.

 

 

This point of charge, laid under the criminal code of
Canada, will ban offenders from driving for 90 days.
Drivers will face fines up to $3,750, and fees or jail
time imposed by the courts.

How do these laws calculate for British
Columbian drivers? According to a Canadian blood-
alcohol calculator, if a woman weighing 120 pounds
has one highball over a two-hour period, she should
not get behind the wheel of a vehicle since her
blood alcohol-level would be above the legal limit.
Conversely, a 180-pound man consuming roughly
three pints of beer should also find an alternative
mode of transportation.

These revised penalties will make them the
toughest drunk driving laws in Canada— which, in
comparison to international laws, has been behind
the trend to lower impaired driving limits. The B.C.
government hopes the new penalties will help lower
drunk driving fatalities by 35 per cent over the next
three years.

Approximately 130 people are killed every year
due to drunk driving in British Columbia.