Readable, teachable news.
Sunday, October 4, 2026
The kids at many elementary and high schools in Ontario may not be participating in after-school sports or clubs for awhile.
That’s because the teachers who run the programs have been asked by their union to consider stop running them and to stop coaching.
Teachers in Ontario are part of a “labour union.” A union is a group of workers who band together for a common goal.
An “ambassador” is a person who represents one country—in another one.
For instance, Canada has ambassadors in many countries around the world. They are high ranking diplomats who represent their country. They typically work from offices called embassies.
The U.S. has many ambassadors stationed around the world, representing the United States.
The U.S. has an embassy in Libya, in Northern Africa.
Libya has been in the news this year because it was part of the Arab Spring, in which some countries’ people protested against corrupt governments.
On Wednesday, the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three embassy staff were killed.
Facts are still emerging about the incident—about why it happened and what the U.S. reaction to it will be.
There has been a significant change in government in the province of Quebec.
On Sept. 4, the PQ party won the provincial election.
They will take over from the Liberals, who have been in power there for nine years.
The PQ leader is Pauline Marois. She will become Quebec’s first female premier.
The PQ or Parti Quebecois advocates “sovereignty” for Quebec. That means they believe Quebec should be a separate country from the rest of Canada because it is unique in terms of culture and language. Most people in Quebec speak French.
The government of Canada had a sleepover, and all of the MPs were invited.
In fact, attendance was mandatory.
What’s really happened is that the Members of Parliament stayed up all night working.
They were voting on a bill, but the way they did it was very unusual—and very interesting.
It all started when Stephen Harper’s Conservative government introduced Bill C-38.
Bill C-38 is an enormous 425-page bill covering all kinds of things including budget items.
The opposition party (the NDP) wanted to protest the fact that the government bundled all of those extra items into the bill.
They say that when too many items are bundled that way, none of the items can be looked over and properly discussed.
Last week Spain’s Prime Minister asked for $125-billion to help the country’s failing economy.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the country needs the money to save its banks.
For months the country has tried to avoid seeking outside help.
There are 17 countries that use the Euro as their currency. Spain is the fourth of these countries to request a bailout. In this case a bailout is when other countries lend a country money to help prop up its economy.
Because its economy is so large, the need for a bailout is troubling for the European union. For instance, the Spanish economy is five times larger than that of Greece (another country that is suffering from economic problems).
Usually countries’ economies affect each other. That’s because they buy and sell things from and to each other. So if one country’s economy isn’t doing well, it affects other countries.
Toronto is banning plastic shopping bags in stores.
Starting in January 2013, you’ll have to bring your own reusable bag to the store to cart your goods away.
More than 250 million bags end up in landfill every year, never breaking down into compost, according to a report by CBC News.
Plastic bags can also clog drainage systems and, when they are washed out to sea, can hurt fish and other marine animals.
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been sent to prison for life.
Last year, as part of the Arab Spring protests* Mubarak was forced from government. He had been in power for nearly 30 years.
During the anti-Mubarak protests, Mubarak’s security forces fired on the protesters, killing more than 850 people.
Recently, a judge found Mubarak guilty of participating in those killings and sentenced him to life in prison.
The Canadian penny will soon be a thing of the past—like the Canadian one-dollar and two-dollar bills. The loonie and the toonie replaced those bills in 1987.
In its last budget, the government said the Royal Canadian Mint will stop making pennies starting this Fall, and that stores will stop using them.
Everyone is asked to return their pennies to a bank; they will be melted down and recycled.
Pennies will always be worth one cent. However, there will be fewer and fewer of them out there as the years go on.
Any prices that don’t end in a zero or a five (in other words, purchase we can use nickles, dimes or quarters for) will be rounded up or down to the nearest zero or five.
Although there are about as many women in the world as men, there is a much larger number of men who are heads-of-state.
The only female head-of-state Canada has had, out of 22 in Canadian history, was Kim Campbell. She was prime minister for less than a year, in 1993.
In Africa last month, Joyce Banda became just the third female head-of-state in modern African history.
Banda took over for President Bingu Wa Mutharika in Malawi, who died of a heart attack in early April.
Until then, Banda had been Malawi’s vice-president, elected in 2005.
University students in Quebec have been protesting.
They have been told that the government is going to raise their tuition fees. In this case, “tuition fees” are the fees people pay to attend university.
Traditionally, Quebec has some of the lowest tuition fees in Canada. Only students in two provinces: Newfound and Labrador and Manitoba, pay less to attend university.
However, the increase will be the largest in the province’s history. The government intends to raise tuition by $1,625 by 2017. Students will pay $325 more each year for the next five years.
Student groups say the increase doesn’t go towards improving the quality of the teaching, and the hikes will force some students who can’t pay the extra money to drop out of school or take a second job. They worry that students who come from low-income families won’t be able to afford higher education.
