Yearbook 2010
Canada. In February, a dispute about shrimp fishing arose
between Canada and the Danish islands of Greenland and the
Faroe Islands. Canadian Fisheries Minister Gail Shea accused
the Greenlandic and Faroese fishermen of overfishing shrimp
on international waters off Canada's east coast. According
to the Minister, fishermen do not follow the quotas set by
the North Atlantic Fisheries Organization NAFO for shrimp
fishing. Shea announced that the Danish-flagged prawn trawls
were no longer welcome in the Canadian ports to release
their catch. Canada has previously kept its ports closed to
shrimp fishermen from Greenland and the Faroe Islands. It
last happened between 2004 and 2008. The conflict was still
not resolved at the end of 2010.
 Several forest fires raged in late May and early June in
the province of Quebec. More than 900 square kilometers of
forest were destroyed in the fires, which in most cases were
caused by lightning strikes. In addition, the weather in the
area during the spring had been very dry with record high
temperatures. The fires occurred in sparsely populated areas
north of Montreal, but nearly 2,000 people still managed to
escape or were evacuated. The heavy smoke from the fires
also led to smog warnings in Montreal and Boston, USA. About
1,200 firefighters fought the fires, which were also bombed
by airplanes.
According to
COUNTRYAAH, Canada
has a population of 37.59 million (2019). Kravaller broke out in Toronto in conjunction with the
G20 nations meeting in the city June 26-27. About 10,000
people participated in demonstrations against the meeting
and for increased investments in jobs and social issues. The
majority of the protesters were peaceful, but a few
black-clad and masked people broke away from the
demonstration train and smashed storefronts as well as burnt
and smashed police cars. This led to clashes with the
police, which arrested about 900 people. Police used tear
gas, pepper spray and rubber batons to try to gain control
of the situation, but acknowledged that they failed. Several
witnesses accused the police of being assaulted and of
arresting many of the peaceful protesters.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced in early November
that Canada might extend its mission in Afghanistan, despite
Parliament's earlier decision that the 2,800 Canadian
soldiers should return home in July 2011. The message came
after Canada was pressured by, among other things, the US,
which expanded his military involvement in Afghanistan.
Harper said that an extension of the mandate to 2014 would
not require any parliamentary decision, which led to harsh
criticism from the opposition. The government later
clarified that Canada should send up to 950 military
trainers when the combatants left Afghanistan in 2011. The
trainers will stay until 2014. Their task will be to help
prepare the Afghan army and police to assume responsibility
for security in the country.
In early November, the Canadian government prevented
mining giant BHP from acquiring the Canadian company Potash
Corporation. The reason was suspicion that the deal would
not benefit Canada. Under Canadian law, the federal
government must review foreign takeovers of Canadian
companies and the government can stop the business if it
deems it does not serve the country's interests. BHP decided
not to appeal, but gave up the deal. British-Australian BHP
is the world's largest mining company. Potash Corporation is
the world's largest producer of pot ash, and accounts for
one fifth of world production. Pot ash is used as a
fertilizer in agriculture.
Relatives of victims and survivors of a massacre in Congo
(Kinshasa) filed a lawsuit in November against Canadian
mining company Anvil Mining. Over 70 civilians are said to
have been killed by Congolese soldiers in the city of Kilwa
in 2004. Anvil Mining, who was Australian-owned at the time,
is accused of providing the military with trucks and other
logistics. The lawsuit was filed in a Montreal court by a
Canadian impunity-fighting organization, the Canadian
Association Against Impunity (CAAI).
Although polygamy is prohibited in Canada, the
authorities have failed to prevent men in some Christian
sects from marrying more women, as they refer to religious
freedom. At the end of November, the issue ended up in the
state of British Columbia, which will decide whether the
polygamy ban violates the Religious Freedom Act. The legal
process was expected to take several months.
Canada, like many other countries, was hit by a snowy and
cold winter in December 2010. In mid-December, over 200
motorists crashed into the roads following a blizzard in the
province of Ontario. The military had to move out and many
motorists were picked up by helicopter. During the Christmas
holidays, intense snowstorms pulled in across the east coast
of Canada and the United States, which meant that thousands
of flights had to be canceled during and shortly after the
Christmas holidays.
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