Ontario teachers' discipline chief quits over racy novel

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In a story full of bizarre angles, the head disciplinarian for Ontario teachers has resigned after it was revealed he authored a sexually infused novel for teenagers.

Jacques Tremblay said Wednesday he is stepping down from his position as chair of the Ontario College of Teachers' discipline committee to ensure public confidence in the organization isn't eroded. He also resigned from his elected membership on the college's governing council.

The revelation that Tremblay co-authored the racy teen novel The Sexteens and the Fake Goddess landed him in controversy. Glowing Shadow Productions

By Wednesday afternoon, Tremblay was no longer listed as a member of either body and his biography had been deleted from the website of the college, which certifies Ontario teachers and investigates misconduct complains.

A Toronto Star report earlier the same day revealed that Tremblay co-authored the novel The Sexteens and the Fake Goddess, which was published in 2008. It tells the story of two Grade 9 students who rely on "cleverness and sex appeal" to confront authority figures, according to its description on bookselling website Amazon.com.

The book contains multiple descriptions of teenaged girls' breasts and buttocks, as well as scenes of stripping, bondage and sexual assault.

Tremblay said in written comments to the Star that the novel "is meant to empower teenagers, to encourage them to be strong and resist or avoid peer pressure."

The high-school computers and civics teacher, himself a father of four and grandfather of two, had been chair of the teachers college's disciplinary committee since 2006. In that post, he oversaw hearings into allegations of professional misconduct and incompetence by the province's teachers.

His 350-page novel was co-written by his wife, Marie-Ange Gagnon, as well as Frédéric Tremblay, and was published by the family's company Glowing Shadow Productions.

The book's website says all three live on a property in the Thousand Islands near Kingston, where Jacques Tremblay teaches at the French-language Mille-Iles Secondary School.

But the address on the registration for their various websites is a vacant lot on Howe Island that's up for sale. The real estate agent selling the property said she lived on the island and had never heard of the Tremblays or Gagnon.

The Frédéric Tremblay in question appears to be a Queen's University economics undergraduate who lists rock climbing and media production among his activities, and who ran last year for a school-board position overseeing the high school where Jacques Tremblay teaches.

Tremblay's company has also published books on organic wine and economics, sells organic produce over the internet, and bills itself as a vendor and installer of solar panels for homes.

The company also produced a series of hokey French-language internet videos titled "Tremblay du Saguenay" — the Saguenay is a region of Quebec north of Quebec City — in which he dons various costumes to rhapsodize to the camera about snow in May, how carpenter's glue reinforces one's self-esteem, and the distinction between gravel and grass.

Jacques Tremblay's bio on his web page says he leads an organic lifestyle and is certified to train parents in infant massage. He has been a teacher for 16 years and has an MA from Queen's, in Kingston.

Annie Kidder, executive director of the parents' group People for Education, said she didn't think the revelation about Tremblay's racy novel should call into question the fairness of the Ontario College of Teachers' disciplinary proceedings of the last five years.

"Each time a teacher is being assessed or that somebody's made a complaint against a teacher, it's a board of people who look at them," Kidder said.

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Hurricane Ophelia heads toward Newfoundland

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Forecasters issued a tropical storm watch for southeastern Newfoundland Sunday for a weakened Hurricane Ophelia as the Category 2 storm headed northward toward Atlantic Canada.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said mid-Sunday that Ophelia's top sustained winds had dropped somewhat to 77 km/h and it was moving north at 50 km/h.

As of 3:30 p.m. NT, Ophelia was centered about 1,094 kilometres southwest of Cape Race, N.L., and a tropical storm watch was in effect for the Avalon Peninsula.

CBC meteorologist Ryan Snoddon said residents could expect a period of heavy rain over eastern Newfoundland on Monday morning, likely between 4 a.m. and 9 a.m. local time.

The U.S. centre said Ophelia is expected to weaken steadily but still be near hurricane strength when it passes close to the peninsula early Monday.

On Saturday, a spokesman for the Canadian Hurricane Centre said he doesn't expect Ophelia to make a landfall, but there could be torrential rains of up to 100 millimetres as the storm tracks close to southeastern Newfoundland at the start of the work week.

"The largest waves will affect Newfoundland," said Chris Fogarty, program supervisor with the centre, in a teleconference from Dartmouth, N.S.

Calling it a "strong, compact, intense storm," Fogarty said Ophelia could affect the eastern shores of Nova Scotia on Sunday evening before heading north to Newfoundland.

While Fogarty spoke of possible local flooding in Newfoundland, the centre did not issue any official warnings connected to Ophelia.

On Friday, Nova Scotia Justice Minister Ross Landry warned those living in "vulnerable areas should be attentive and prepared for possible localized flooding."

Fogarty said Ophelia and a separate storm system were expected to join up on Sunday and by then, the centre will have a better idea of where the storm will be tracking and its force.

Storm warnings on Saturday for Nova Scotia and P.E.I. concerned heavy rainfall, as high as 80 mm, not connected to Ophelia.

Ophelia caused flooding and cut off communities in the island of Dominica in the Caribbean.

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Asian stocks climb amid European developments

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Asian stocks climbed Friday after Europe's move to backstop troubled banks and Britain's plan to pump more stimulus into its fading economy gave a boost to confidence.

After a week of wild gyrations stemming from Europe's debt crisis, investors in Asia reacted positively to news that the Bank of England will turn on its stimulus taps and that the European Central Bank will offer new short-terms to banks that are facing difficulties securing funding.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index leaped 3.5 per cent to 17,778.34 after surging 5.7 per cent the day before while South Korea's Kospi index jumped 2.9 per cent to 1,760.31.

Japan's Nikkei index rose 1.4 per cent to 8,640.34 after the country's central bank said the economy is "picking up" and predicted an eventual return to a moderate recovery.

Benchmarks in Taiwan, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand also advanced. Markets in mainland China were closed for a weeklong holiday.

"We're seeing a lot of buying today basically because markets have bounced off their lows so a lot of people are covering their shorts ahead of the weekend" before stock prices increase further, said Andrew Sullivan, a sales trader at Piper Jaffray Asia Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong.

Short sellers borrow a stock to sell and "cover their shorts" when they buy it back at a lower price, pocketing the difference when it is returned to the lender.

"There was positive news out of the U.K., out of Europe on the banking side certainly and that spurred a run on the U.S. banks being positive as well," Sullivan said.

European and U.S. bank stocks gained after the ECB and Bank of England announcements on Thursday. The moves gave hope to global financial markets and were a sharp turnaround from the beginning of the week, when stocks tumbled on fears that European policymakers were acting slowly and indecisively to contain the debt crisis.

The ECB offered new unlimited emergency short-term loans to the continent's battered banks, which have faced difficulties borrowing from each other because of worries about each other's financial stability.

The ECB will also buy up to C40 billion ($53 billion) in covered bonds, an important source of funding for banks. But it held interest rates steady, disappointing some economists who had hoped for a cut.

On the same day, the Bank of England said it would pump another 75 billion pounds ($116 billion) into the country's stagnant economy, reviving an asset purchase program that injected 200 billion pounds from March 2009 to January 2010. The Bank's decision came earlier and was bigger than many economists had predicted.

A U.S. report later Friday on September employment will provide guidance on the state of the economic recovery. Investors are looking closely for any clues ahead of its release.

Piper Jaffray's Sullivan said that in a speech on Thursday U.S. President Barack Obama "criticized Europe for dithering over Greece and its banks."

"To some people that might indicate that jobs number is going to be worse than the market is expecting."

In currencies, the euro was marginally higher at $1.3430 from $1.3429 late Thursday. The dollar inched up to 76.62 yen from 76.61.

Oil prices rose, with benchmark crude for November delivery up 34 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $82.95. The contract jumped $2.91, or 3.7 per cent, to finish at $82.59 per barrel in New York on Thursday.

Brent crude rose 27 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $106.00 in London

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UN raises death toll in Syria unrest to 2,900

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The UN's human rights office has raised its tally of people killed during seven months of unrest in Syria to over 2,900.

A spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said Thursday the figure is based on "reliable sources" inside and outside the country.

Rupert Colville said the names of the dead have all been confirmed and likely include some members of the security forces.

The figure represents an increase of at least 200 since the beginning of September.

Since mid-March, Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria has cracked down on protesters leading movements similar to those that have ousted other Arab autocrats this year.

The UN's announcement Thursday comes the same day the European Union moved to widen its sanctions against Syria because of the Arab state's brutal crackdown on protesters, EU officials said.

Syria's largest commercial bank is a target.

The EU moves would come after the failure by the U.S. and European allies to pass a UN Security Council resolution threatening sanctions against Syria. Russia and China vetoed Tuesday's measure, which would have been the first legally binding council resolution against since the Syria uprising began.

The 2,900 killings have already prompted the 27-nation EU to expand sanctions against Syria several times.

The latest sanctions will likely not be ready yet for EU foreign ministers to endorse during Monday's monthly council meeting. But a high-ranking EU official said they should be pushed through "in the coming days."

In August, the U.S. took action against the bank by freezing any assets the firm has in U.S. jurisdictions and banning Americans from doing business with it. The EU sanctions would likely be similar.A man holds a sign that reads "Death Instead of Humiliation" during a protest march against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad organized by the Syrian minority in Bucharest on Sept. 2. (Radu Sigheti/Reuters)

Over the past month, the EU has banned investment in Syria's oil sector and put a ban on Syrian crude oil imports on top of an arms embargo. Additional measures include travel and visa bans on 56 officials linked to Assad's regime.

Earlier this week, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird announced Canada is toughening and expanding its sanctions against Syria.

The new sanctions freeze the assets of 27 more people and 12 entities in the country. The expanded measures include travel restrictions, and a prohibition on dealings with members of the regime and those who provide it with support.

On Monday, the EU foreign ministers are set to call again on Assad to step down and allow for a political transition.

On the ground in Syria on Thursday, Syrian troops stormed villages close to the border with Turkey, hunting armed military defectors who fought back in clashes that left at least four soldiers and three others dead, activists said.

The fighting in the country's restive northern region of Jabal al-Zawiya, where Syrian military defectors are active, was the latest sign of a trend toward growing militarization of the uprising.

The Syrian opposition had until recently focused on non-violent resistance. But since late July, a group calling itself the Free Syrian Army has claimed attacks across the country and emerged as the first significant armed challenge to Assad's regime.

The opposition has mostly welcomed the armed group's formation, and the movement could propel the Syrian revolt by encouraging senior officers to desert the regime.

But the escalation could also backfire horribly, giving the regime a new pretext to crack down even harder than it already has.

The sectarian divide in Syria, where a regime composed mostly of the Alawite offshoot of Shiite Islam rules over Sunnis and others, also means that any insurgency could escalate quickly into civil war.

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McGuinty rules out coalition government

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Ontario Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty has ruled out a coalition in the event no party wins a majority in Thursday's election.

In a letter obtained by The Canadian Press on Sunday, the premier tells Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak that he won't be making any deals to form a government.

"I am running to form a Liberal government — and only a Liberal government," McGuinty said in the letter. "There will be no coalition with either your party or the NDP."

The latest polls indicate the Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives in a dead heat, raising the prospect of a minority government in Ontario for the first time in 26 years, with the NDP under Andrea Horwath as kingmaker.

In his letter to Hudak, McGuinty said his opponents are using talk of a minority government as political ammunition.

"Over the course of the weekend, you and Ms. Horwath have turned away from promoting your individual platforms and have engaged instead in trying to leverage political advantage through minority government speculation," McGuinty said.

Conservative Leader Tim Hudak says if no party wins a majority on Thursday, the Liberals and New Democrats might form a coalition and raise taxes. CBC

Hudak has been accusing McGuinty of planning "backroom deals" with the New Democrats.

Earlier Sunday, he warned that Ontario could end up with a minority government coalition in which the Liberals and NDP would work together to hike taxes.

"The Liberals and the NDP: they'll increase taxes and they'll spend money on everything under the sun," Hudak said at a campaign stop Sunday.

When asked if he would work with the New Democrats if they dropped a plan to raise the corporate tax rate, Hudak indicated he wasn't interested.

"I'm in this election to win and bring change, not play 'Let's Make a Deal'," Hudak said, suggesting the Liberals and NDP would cook up a deal.

The Liberals said McGuinty addressed his letter only to Hudak because of the Tory leader's comments.

However, a Liberal source attacked both the Conservatives and NDP over minority talk, saying it seemed they were "getting increasingly desperate."

NDP Leader Andrew Horwath hasn't ruled out the possibility of a coalition but says Ontario voters should have their say first. Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press

Hudak's strategy is reminiscent of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's, whose spring election included frequent warnings that the federal Liberals and NDP would scheme to form a coalition if his Conservatives did not get a majority.

McGuinty said voting Liberal would be the only way to ensure the "strong, stable, positive government" Ontario needs in uncertain times.

Campaigning in Toronto, Horwath side-stepped speculation about a minority government, focusing instead on what the NDP would do during its first 100 days in office.

While Horwath did not dismiss the possibility of a coalition, she spent the final Sunday of the campaign focused on her bid to become premier.

"My job is to continue to let Ontarians know what my commitments are — which is why I put those commitments out clearly today — so that they know exactly what they're going to get in the first 100 days," she said after a raucous downtown rally.

"The very least they deserve is not focusing on ourselves and on what our power might be, but focusing on what we should be focusing on all along, and that is how we're going to fix this province."

Horwath said her priorities for her first 100 days would be job creation, pocketbook relief, strengthening health care, helping Ontarians make "affordable" green choices, and raising corporate taxes.

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B.C. coroner says Dziekanski inquest not needed

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There will be no inquest into the death of Robert Dziekanski, who died after being stunned multiple times by a Taser during a confrontation with Mounties at Vancouver International Airport in October 2007.

Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, right, is seen in the arrivals area of the Vancouver airport in this shot from video recorded by Victoria resident Paul Pritchard on Oct. 14, 2007. (Paul Pritchard/Reuters)

Chief B.C. Coroner Lisa Lapointe says her office had planned to hold an inquest after the police investigation was complete, but now she says it's not in the public interest because a full public inquiry has been held into the case.

However, a coroner's report on the death will still be released to the public.

Retired B.C. Appeal Court justice Thomas Braidwood conducted a two-part inquiry into the case, reviewing the death of Dziekanski and the use of stun guns in general.

In his final report, Braidwood rejected the testimony of the four Mounties involved, who said they felt threatened by Dziekanski, ruling they could not have believed he posed a danger to anybody.

The Mounties have since been charged with perjury.

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THE HOUSE: Ontario's finances, jobs and 'the elephant in the room'

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