Night Train

Canada

Search underway in Cape Breton for missing autistic boy

Dec 14/09 CB Post SYDNEY — A boy and his dog took one final drive together Monday. As the hearse they were in drove up to the front steps of Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Whitney Pier, the dog, Chance, stuck his head out the car window, sniffing the air from the front passenger seat Five pallbearers gently pulled out seven-year-old James Delorey’s small, cherry-stained wooden casket from the back of the hearse. Adorned with an arrangement of blue, white and yellow flowers, the pallbearers carried his casket up the church steps. An honour guard of police, paramedics, and search-and-rescue officials lined the steps saluting Delorey, a non-verbal autistic boy who got lost in woods behind his home Dec. 5, and remained missing for two days before a search-and-rescue team located the boy clinging to life. His mother, Veronica Fraser, and father, Jason Delorey, held hands with their other son, Jesse, as they followed behind the casket. It was the paw prints of Chance that rescue teams used to help pinpoint Delorey’s location about 1.3 kilometres in the brush in South Bar. The dog had run out of the woods earlier that morning Dec. 7, giving the search teams a clue on where to look. Paramedics scrambled through the rough terrain and heavy brush to make it to Delorey, who had a faint pulse. Kayella MacKenzie, an advanced-care paramedic with EHS, hiked to the scene with her partner to assess his medical condition and together they began the long two-hour trek to get him to the LifeFlight helicopter. “It was surreal. It was just instinct but we wouldn’t be able to do it without all of the search and rescue people,” MacKenzie said following Delorey’s funeral mass. “Everybody just had to have a positive attitude and no one lost hope throughout the entire thing, and I think that’s what pulled him through until we got to the helicopter.” Paramedics had to perform CPR after his heart stopped beating. “We were not able to re-establish (a heart beat) when we were on scene. But you’re not dead until you’re warm and dead, so we never ever questioned it,” she said. Delorey was airlifted to the IWK Health Centre in Halifax where he died in the early hours of Dec. 8 Hundreds attended the funeral for the boy, who had an entire community searching day and night until he was found. His story captured the hearts of a nation, and his death only hours later broadcast across the country saddened strangers to the verge of tears. Both national and local media attended the funeral. Cape Breton Regional Police informed reporters that the family didn’t wish for the funeral to become a public affair. They were kept well back, watching the service from the other side of Victoria Road. Police directed traffic on the busy thoroughfare for two hours until the family left the church. One of the mourners was a friend of Delorey’s mother, Veronica Fraser. Linda Campbell said everyone broke down when they saw the family, including dog Chance, follow behind the casket to the front of the church. She said seeing the dog at the funeral was a lovely touch. “It was very helpful as part of the grieving process. It was just amazing to see him there,” Campbell said. Wendy Dorey, who was a classmate of Veronica’s in school, said the whole community was “spellbound” by this little boy. “It’s times like this that you really know what your community means to you. This little boy has touched a lot of hearts. He will be sadly missed,” she said. As a final display of respect for the young boy, police officers, paramedics, search-and-rescue volunteers circled the casket, touching it one final time. Some even laid pine needles on the casket as a symbol of Delorey’s time spent in the woods. “It was very emotional to see the family and just everybody involved. But it was a lot of closure for all of us to be able to say goodbye,” MacKenzie said.  (Monday Dec 14 | post #6)

Canada

Canadian native groups cancel CN Rail blockade

Well Joe, in Toronto you may be quite right in respect to the tax base in respect to hard working immigrants. The last stats I read had the immigrant population of GTA at around 50%. I was born and raised here and have no idea where my people immigrated from generations ago nor do I really care. I have never been on welfare and have worked all my adult life since age 16 so when I bitch about where my tax dollars go, I figure I have as much right to do so as anyone else. Perhaps we should just leave the Native situation as it is and once the non-colonial immigrant population becomes a majority we can let them deal with it. Perhaps they will do a better job as we haven't managed to do anything positive except dole out good money after bad.  (Monday Dec 14 | post #820)

Canada

RCMP Taser use against girl ruled 'unreasonable'

Mac in your time as a peace officer would you have zapped the girl in this case with the taser or would you have simply walked her to segregation as I had described? It is one thing for us civilians to judge but the opinion of someone who has been there would be more valid.  (Monday Dec 14 | post #4)

Canada

RCMP Taser use against girl ruled 'unreasonable'

This decision wasn't rocket science. A 15 year old girl is handcuffed and refusing to go to segregation. At one time two officers would each have taken her by an arm and lifted her feet off the ground and walked her to segregation. Not now, they gotta zap her with a taser rather than expend any physical energy.  (Sunday Dec 13 | post #2)

Canada

Toronto's Mayor Miller - embarrassed' for Canada

Well this is one Canadian that Mr. Miller does not speak for. He can speak for his electorate in the City of Toronto but outside GTA, he is a meaningless, inconsequential goof ball who has no right to speak on anyone's behalf other than his constituents. Toronto is not the center of the Universe anymore and in fact is simply the Capital City of our newest have not Province.  (Sunday Dec 13 | post #1)

Canada

Search underway in Cape Breton for missing autistic boy

http://thechronicl eherald.ca/Front/1 156663.html For a short time I actually believed that Christmas Miracles were indeed possible. The latest news reports confirms my earlier suspicions that Miracles are simply a figment of hopefull imaginations. So many hearts touched by a gentle young boy are now broken. Goodbye James Delorey, you will not be forgotten.  (Tuesday Dec 8 | post #5)

Canada

Search underway in Cape Breton for missing autistic boy

It's been a long and arduous past three days since 7 year old James Delorey went missing from his home in our area. He wandered off with his dog Chance on Saturday afternoon and was found early this afternoon Monday. Hours after he went missing, wearing only a shirt, vest, pants, and sneakers, a major snow storm moved into the area and lasted all weekend dumping 15 or more cm's of snow with winds bringing the windchill to -15C. The storm lasted throughout Saturday Night, all day Sunday, and today there were squalls and whiteouts making for less than ideal conditions for the searchers. The matter was not only complicated by inadequate clothing being worn by James for the weather that came in but also by the fact that he cannot speak and is autistic. At around 10:30am today James' dog Chance came home and a group of trackers/searchers started following his tracks in hopes of finding James. When they got about a third of the way to where James was located, another of two search teams in that area of the woods found James. I don't know for certain if they were influenced by the dogs tracks or not but James was found laying unconscious deep in an area of thick underbrush. Searchers say the underbrush afforded some shelter from the wind and with the dog laying beside him kept him from perishing. James had a faint heartbeat and the area had to be cleared of the underbrush in order to move him. It took at least 3 hours to get him to the nearest helicopter landing site 400 meters away with constant treatment by a medical team. He was air lifted by Medivac Helicopter to the IWK in Halifax where he remains in critical condition. I daresay that had he not been found today, he would not have been found alive. That fact that this involved a child and also I suppose the Christmas Season that is fast approaching, this story captured the hearts and minds of people from all over. Hundreds of people volunteered in the search to the point that some had to be turned away. So much food was brought in for the searchers, that the organizers had to ask people to stop doing that as well. A facebook site "Bring 7 year old James Delorey home safe!!" was set up and received 28,915 members since it's inception on Saturday. Although James is not out of the woods completely yet medical-wise, his adventure thus far has galvanized our community and instilled a Spirit of Christmas that we will not forget for some time to come. In situations like this, there are many stories behind the main story that are sometimes overlooked. The weather conditions under which the volunteers had to work, the number of volunteers from all walks of life, the rescue teams that came from far and wide. Some rescue teams travelled from Mainland Nova Scotia through blizzard conditions to take part in the search. The firemen, police, ambulance workers, and countless others who are definitely sleep deprived and near exhaustion will no doubt sleep a little better tonight after such a job well done.  (Monday Dec 7 | post #4)

Canada

Search underway in Cape Breton for missing autistic boy

James Delorey was found at approximately 1:10PM this afternoon. Searchers were able to follow his dog Chance's tracks in the snow to locate James once Chance returned home late this morning. It is reported James has a faint pulse and has been transported to hospital. More information will be forthcoming after a 3:00pm press conference being held by the Cape Breton Regional Police.  (Monday Dec 7 | post #2)

Canada

I'm Gay: Coming Out In The Media

There was no doubt a time when I wouldn't feel comfortable even reading a gay forum let alone participating in one. However, if we so called "straight " people are to progress from our redneck narrow minded attitudes, there needs to be some dialogue so that we can understand Gays more. People seem to fear and alienate that which they don't understand. I'm not here to belittle, slander, or judge. I am simply trying to make an effort to knock down some of the barriers that have been ingrained in me. After all isn't that what these forums are for?  (Tuesday Dec 1 | post #27)

Canada

Gadhafi tells Canadians, you're not welcome in Libya

Moammar Gadhafi is a blooming idiot. I can't think of anything Libya has to offer to the world except for oil of course. For those who make a living in Libya, it is of course a set back but certainly not the end of the world. There's lots of other countries around the globe run by despots that will welcome us. Let's leave Moammar with his mental disorders and his oil and bid him good riddance.  (Oct 27, 2009 | post #4)

Canada

Canada: A nation of bigots

An Immigrant, posted his/her opinion based on their experience but did so in a non confrontational manner and was open to dialogue. From that form of dialogue we can learn what our similarities are. In particular he/she can see that some of the problems being faced are not because they are an immigrant but because they are a member of a society where a lot of us are all facing the same problems to varying degrees. We also get the benefit of seeing their experience from their perspective which should give us a clearer understanding of the pitfalls of our system as it relates to welcoming and helping newcomers become established in our Country. A Fellow Immigrant, comes into the forum with agression, negativity, and a chip on their shoulder, which leaves no room for dialogue other than that of a confrontational level as evidenced by the posts by Truth Hurts. There are negative aspects to some Immigrants as well as there are negative aspects to Canada as a Country and society as a whole. If we dwell on these negatives, we will never experience any positive growth in understanding or reform especially if we focus on the negative only and not look at the positive aspects. The negative points should be raised with the purpose of determining their cause and seeking rectification not for simply justifying twarted opinions. If we all displayed the tolerance and understanding displayed by Homer, confrontation would be at a minimum and progress could be made on all fronts. Unknown's post was refreshing but it would be fruitful to know why they have such positive output. Did they experience the same things as others and handle it differently or were they fortunate enough not to have faced any pitfalls at all?  (Oct 10, 2009 | post #58)

Honda Motorcycles

Harley driven up by possibility Honda may buy it

There has always been a form of association between Harley and Honda. After WWII Harley worked with Honda in setting up their motorcycle manufacturing and thereby helped to create their biggest competitor over the years. Kind of ironic really. When Harley made the move from the Evolution engine, they worked with Honda engineers to develop the Twin Cam engine line and with Porsche to develop the Revolution (V-Rod) engine. Harley has never publicly acknowledged their association with Honda as that would appear to be counter productive in public perception but they did do a Television program on the Discovery channel on their teamwork with Porshe to develop the V-Rod. Perhaps it is this backroom association with Honda that got the rumor mills started with the assertion that Honda was in talks with Harley. Basically it was a situation of one company lending a hand to another and years later the favor was returned.  (Oct 5, 2009 | post #300)

Canada

Canada: A nation of bigots

Ignore the tangent posts on Blacks. Racists have a way of usurping any topic and only serve to cloud the issue at hand and to incite other posters. I don't know if there is any justification in the situation you found yourself in when coming to Canada. I don't know what your expectations were but I would like to hear them. To have Toronto as your only measuring stick of this Country is not a fair representation of Canada as a whole. I've lived and worked in Toronto and came East for a vacation many years ago and never went back except for an occassional visit. I wouldn't live in Toronto now for all the tea in China. Far too big and too impersonal and cold for my liking. We have always had our shortcomings in respect to unfair treatment of minorities and that is nothing to be proud of. You say on one hand that you have been here long enough that you should have tasted some reward for your hard work while on the other hand you refer to yourself as an "outsider ". I would suggest that if you have been here that long, you are not an outsider but one of us many people who are struggling to taste some of that reward for our hard work. You may certainly feel as though you are an "outsider " and that is indeed tragic and unfortunate. I am not being patronizing or condescending and hope that I am not coming across that way. I have taken an interest in what you have to say and look forward to having some dialogue with you on the subject. Who knows just perhaps we can learn something from each other but if nothing else, it will give you a venue to get things off your chest.  (Oct 5, 2009 | post #36)

Canada

Canada: A nation of bigots

I didn't think I was being patronizing and if I came across in that manner I apologize. Not all immigrants are from Third World countries but some are. In respect to my children knowing the rules of my house, the answer is a definite yes. That comes from communication. Perhaps along with the reforms that I mentioned in my post, we could also do a better job of communicating with our Immigrants and working with them as they become adjusted to our society. I am not an immigrant so I can't readily address the situation from your perspective. We need input from people such as yourself who can provide some sound suggestions as to what can or should be done rather than simply complaining because it isn't the way you would like.  (Oct 5, 2009 | post #35)

Canada

Canada: A nation of bigots

I was actually surprised when I read the article that is the topic of this conversation. I know some people who are strongly anti-American but in each of those cases, it is primarily because of ignorance along with a strong desire not to be enlightened. These few that I know personally represent a very small number of the people I associate with. I was surprised and distressed by the apparent numbers that were insinutated in the article. As far as our overall treatment of Immigrants in this Country is concerned, I feel there needs to be a major reform from the top, being the Federal Government, down to the grass roots, being we as individuals. Our Immigration policies don't seem to have any balance or uniform policy. We see undesirables filter through the system while good honest hard working people are deported. We don't seem to make a satisfactory effort to help Immigrants migrate into our society but rather try to change the long standing rules of our Society to conform to theirs. This causes discontent among a good percentage of the population. For example, Sikh's being allowed to carry knives that exceed the length that the average citizen is allowed to carry on their person. Changing our RCMP uniforms and Military uniforms to accomodate the wearing of a turban. These may seem like petty examples but reverse the situation and have a citizen of any other Country move to a Sikh nation and see if any rules or accomodations will be made for them. Not likely. When we allow any segment of our population to be treated differently than the majority of the population is treated, it creates the basis for bigotry, prejudice, and resentment. We have highly trained and qualified professional Immigrants from all Nationalities who are delivering pizzas and other low level employment because we do not assist them in upgrading their qualifications or testing the ones they have to compare them to our National standards. This seems ridiculous to me and a criminal waste of talent that we sorely need. Our schools need to spend more time teaching about the dynamics of the Multicultural mosiac of our Country to instill an appreciation of the various Nationalities and Customs that form our diverse Society. We as individuals have to look upon our new Citizens with a little more compassion and understanding, and be willing to learn about our differences as well as our similarities and be more welcoming and tolerant. Canada is our home and our Immigrants should be treated as any guest we would have in our own house. Welcome them, make them feel comfortable, enjoy their company, but at the same time they must understand that I have rules in my house and as long as they are under my roof they are expected to abide by those rules. It is called mutual respect as any road we travel in life is usually a two-way street.  (Oct 4, 2009 | post #15)