Referendums, elections, and attacks » Revisiting the biggest news stories of 2015 Mercedes Deutscher News Editor & news@theotherpress.ca RY year brings exciting stories, whether they are small local matters or issues that bring the citizens of the world together, and 2015 was no exception. Here are some of the biggest news stories to take place over the course of the past year, some of which will continue to have repercussions for months or even years to come. Local: Metro Vancouver Transportation and Transit Referendum: In the early winter and spring, the Mayors’ Council, the Canadian Tax Federation, and numerous other organizations debated introducing a 0.5 per cent tax increase, which would have funded an extensive public transportation infrastructure plan set for completion in 2040. Ultimately, residents of Metro Vancouver voted against the tax, expressing distrust in how TransLink has spent its funding in the past. Drought: In the summer of 2015, much of BC experienced the most severe drought to impact the province since 2003. At its peak, the drought was declared a Level 3. Lawn : sprinkling and car washing : was prohibited, and several : other water uses were limited : due to a shortage of water : available in the reservoirs. National: C-51: In January 2015, the : controversial Bill C-51 was : introduced within the House : of Commons, then under : the control of a Conservative : majority government and : assented into law in June. The : bill gave increased powers : to intelligence agencies, : such as CSIS, to monitor : terrorist activities. The bill : received criticism due to : lack of accountability and its : ambiguous text., as well as its : speculated infringement on : Canadian individual rights. : While initially receiving support : : from many Canadians, the bill : ended up dividing Canadians, : who argued whether or not the : bill was necessary or overly : intrusive. Within the former : government, the bill received : support from the Conservative : party and the Liberal party, : while being opposed to by : the NDP, the Green party, : and the Bloc Quebecois. Federal Election: In early : August, what would become : one of the longest elections : in Canadian history was : declared. The election saw a : 10 per cent surge in number of : voters, who voted to oust the : reigning Conservative party of : nine years and opted to elect a : Liberal majority government. : The Liberal party finished : with 182 seats and jumped : from secondary opposition : to government, with it and : the Bloc Quebecois being the : only parties to gain seats. The : Conservative government lost : 60 seats and had long-time : leader Stephen Harper step : down after the election. The : NDP reported huge losses, : moving from 95 seats to : 44. The election also made : history with its leaders, with : Justin Trudeau becoming the : first child of a former prime : minister to take the office. : International: Refugee crisis: While the : conflict in Syria had been : building up over a few years, : : 2015 Saw a surge in international : : attention towards the millions : of externally-displaced Syrians : who often faced dangerous : and expensive conditions : in exchange for escape. A : picture of the body of Alan : Kurdi, 3, washed ashore on a : beach incited a call for action : by the world’s citizens for : their governments to intake : refugees trying to make a : new life for themselves. Attacks in France: Two : terrorist attacks occurred in : France in 2015. The first and : smaller of the attacks took : place in January at the office : of Charlie Hebdo, a weekly : satirical publication, where : two attackers left 12 dead and : 11 injured. The perpetrators : later admitted to having ties : to Al-Qaeda. The second and : larger of the attacks occurred in : : November, when a series of six : coordinated attacks took place Photo credit Daniel Ochoa de Olza via time.com : throughout the city of Paris. : Overall, a total of 130 victims : were killed and another 368 : were injured. Seven out of nine : perpetrators, all of who had ties : to ISIS, also died at the scenes of : the attacks. During the attacks, : France closed its borders, and : in the weeks following, France declared a state of emergency : and increased military power : in areas controlled by ISIS. Federal government to accept more refugees » While short in 2015, Liberal party doubles target of refugee intake Mercedes Deutscher News Editor MS news@theotherpress.ca M icceme: saw the first of thousands of Syrian refugees enter Canada as new permanent residents, many of whom were greeted by Prime Minister Trudeau himself. The first families to arrive were privately sponsored. On December 21, John McCallum, the Minister of Immigration and Citizenship, announced that Canada is expecting to have taken in between 35,000-50,000 refugees by the end of 2016. The number could potentially double the original government goal of 25,000. It has not been said yet how many of the increased number of refugees will be government and privately sponsored. While falling short of their goal to intake 10,000 refugees by the end of the year, over : 6,000 refugees have arrived in : Canada, with the next 4,000 : expected to arrive in the next : two weeks and the remaining : 15,000 of the original 25,000 : target still expected to arrive : by the end of February. The : process is speculated to have : been slowed as a result of : the attacks that took place in : Paris in November, as an effort : to reassure Canadians that : proper security screenings are : taking place. Other reasons : for the delay include more : extensive medical screenings, : more time to organize the : departure for approved : families, airport capacity, : and diplomacy concerns. Even with a slowed process, : the overall goals of the intake : have not changed. One of : the new families includes : the family of Alan Kurdi, : the boy whose body washed : ashore on a beach after a : dangerous escape out of Syria. “We almost lost hope, but ~ WELCOME. l : thank you to the Canadian : government and the Canadian : people who made it happen,” : Mohammed Kurdi said to : the Globe and Mail upon the : family’s arrival on December : 28, as translated by his : sister from Coquitlam. The Kurdi family, along : with the other new families : to arrive, have received an : outpouring of support from : Canadians, with many donating : : time, money, and resources : to help the families resettle. : “l’ve said many times this is : : not a government project, this : Is a national project,” McCallum : : said to CTV. “I’m hoping that : more and more people will do REFUGEES Image via thinkstock || : that so the refugees and soon- : to-be Canadians will get a super warm Canadian welcome.” In a New Years address to : Canadians, Governor General David Johnston said: “Let’s : continue to demonstrate to the world what a smart : and caring nation can look : like in the 21st century.”