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"Gunslinging" Canadian MP Tries to Soften Gun Rules Even Further - With Remarkably Bad Timing.

Dear Editor,

A tragic thing happened in my province on Christmas eve. A Winnipeg woman was shot with a pellet gun and suffered,  according to police,  a "life-altering injury." A pellet gun is a weapon my Member of Parliament, Robert Sopuck (CPC - Dauphin/Swan River/Marquette - above) is convinced is "literally, not a firearm." Scant weeks before this unfortunate incident, Mr. Sopuck had introduced a private members bill to amend the Criminal Code. Its purpose - "to clarify that low-velocity rifles such as BB guns and air rifles should not be considered firearms.” 

And a bit before that, the Supreme Court had declared that they were so, firearms! 

A Canadian City Once Eliminated Poverty And Nearly Everyone Forgot About It

Huffington Post
On a December afternoon, Frances Amy Richardson took a break from her quilting class to reflect on a groundbreaking experiment she took part in 40 years earlier. Story here.

Related: A Town in Manitoba, Canada Without Poverty. An Experiment With Basic Income (Video)

Global Warming Will Cut Wheat Yields, Research Shows

theguardian

Combining wheat in Manitoba, Canada. 

Larry Powell PinP photo.

Production of wheat – one of the world’s most important staple crops – is set to fall by 6% for every 1C rise in temperature, say scientists. Story here.

Fracking Fumes: Where There's a Well, All is Not Well

Inside Climate News

After analyzing 24 scientific studies, the Natural Resources Defence Council finds plenty to worry about, from birth defects to deadly effects. Story here.

Related: Fracking Dealt Another Setback by Quebec Report

Global Efforts Needed to Stop Deadly Banana Disease

UN News Centre

Without global efforts to respond to a fungal disease affecting banana production, the $36 billion global industry, which provides a source of income or food to some 400 million people around the world, is under threat, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Story here.

Canada's Arctic Could be Free or Summer Sea-Ice in Just Six Years.

The Star

As sea ice in the far north shrinks, experts say the Arctic could be free of ice by as early as the summer of 2020. Story here.