Latest news with #Polytechnique
11-06-2025
- Politics
No banned firearms have been sent to Ukraine, despite government promise
The federal government has not yet made good on its commitment to send banned guns collected through the federal buyback program to Ukraine. So far, no firearms have been donated to the war effort, despite a pledge made by the Trudeau government in December. One day before the 35th anniversary of the Polytechnique massacre (new window) , hundreds of models were added to the federal government's list of banned firearms. Federal ministers at the same time made a commitment to donate a portion of the firearms collected through the government's first phase of its firearm buyback program to Ukraine, in a bid to support its fight against the Russian invasion. The announcement was made by then defence minister Bill Blair. He was joined by former public services minister Jean-Yves Duclos and former public safety minister Dominic LeBlanc. Of the three, only LeBlanc remains in cabinet. Some experts expressed concerns about this plan (new window) , warning it seemed haphazard and intended to generate support for the Trudeau government's controversial gun policies. (new window) WATCH | From December 2024: Critics weigh in on buyback changes: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? Late additions to gun buyback program will balloon costs, critics say The federal government has made last-minute additions of gun parts to its assault-weapon buyback program such as magazines, bolts, and grips. Critics say adding the wide range of components will only add to the program's ballooning cost. More than six months later, that hasn't happened. A statement from Public Safety Canada says more than 12,000 guns have been bought back from businesses in the first phase of the program, but said it is still working to identify which, if any, will go to Ukraine. The Government of Canada continues to work with businesses to identify prohibited firearms in their inventory of NATO calibre that could be donated to Ukraine, said Max Watson, a spokesperson for Public Safety Canada, in a statement. In December, Blair said the government had been working with Ukraine since October to see whether any of the banned firearms could be used in the war. Every bit of assistance we can offer to the Ukrainians is one step towards their victory and a worthwhile investment of our collective time and efforts, he said at the time. Days after the announcement, the department confirmed that 23 makes and models of assault-style firearms were identified to be sent to Ukraine by the country's Defence Ministry. I'm not sure anyone, at any point, believed that the Canadian government was going to pay to confiscate sporting rifles from civilians and send them to a war zone in Eastern Europe, said Rod Giltaca, the CEO of the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights, in a statement. In reality, after over five years, they haven't managed to roll out their buyback in the first place. Buyback delayed for years The Trudeau government had sought to implement its buyback program for certain assault-style firearms since they were banned by the federal government in May 2020. Ottawa initially banned the sale of some 1,500 guns, later expanding the list to more than 2,000 makes and models. Although the program has been marred by delays, the government began the first phase of the buyback — which includes buying the remaining stock of prohibited firearms from eligible businesses — in November 2024. It compensates businesses for the value of the gun, then destroys it — except for the firearms that have been designated to be sent to Ukraine. A buyback program for individuals who legally owned the now-prohibited guns is set to begin later this year. (new window) While campaigning for election, Prime Minister Mark Carney promised to "reinvigorate the implementation of an efficient gun-buyback program for assault-style firearms." (new window) The buyback plan has the support of the gun control movement but faces stiff opposition from hunters and shooters, who say it unfairly targets lawful gun owners. Giltaca says firearm owners are waiting to see whether Carney's gun policies differ from the Trudeau government. I'm sure there are many that are hoping that the next four years will bear little resemblance to the last 10.… Licensed gun owners would enjoy a reprieve from being blamed for the Liberals' failures on public safety, he said. Kate McKenna (new window) · CBC News
India Today
10-06-2025
- Science
- India Today
Ampere, the Paris professor who turned a needle's twitch into a new science
It was a quiet September afternoon in Paris, 1820, when news from Denmark's Copenhagen reached Andre-Marie Ampere in Paris where he was teaching at cole Polytechnique. Hans Christian Orsted, a Danish physicist, had made a strange observation during a lecture back in April: a magnetic needle shifted direction when placed near a wire carrying electric of just being impressed, Ampere lit up. He rushed back to his laboratory at the College de France, repeated the experiment with his own voltaic pile, and took note of deeper implicationsadvertisementWithin days, he was in front of the French Academy of Sciences, not only confirming Orsted's effect but showing something even bigger: electric currents could create not just magnetic fields, but movement. They could generate motion, forces, patterns -- an entirely new branch of physics. That lightning-rod moment became the heart of electrodynamics -- what we now call it wasn't a fluke. Ampere had spent years quietly battling personal loss, grief, isolation, and the aftermath of the French Revolution. The language of physics and mathematics had become his lifelines. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) A LIFE SHAPED BY LOSS AND LEARNINGBorn on January 20, 1775, in Lyon, France, Ampere grew up in a home full of books. His father, a devout follower of philosopher and writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau, allowed him to learn was solving calculus problems in Latin by age 13. But tragedy shaped him -- his father was guillotined during the Reign of Terror, and later in life, he lost his wife losses haunted him. Yet, instead of folding inwards, he turned to science and faith for FORMAL SCHOOLING, BUT AN INSATIABLE MINDAmpere never attended a formal university as a student. He was largely self-taught, devouring mathematics, Latin, philosophy, and natural sciences from books in his father's library. (figures from the Memoirs on Electromagnetism and Electrodynamics) (Photos: Wikimedia Commons) Eventually, he secured a teaching post at the Collge de France and later became a professor at the cole Polytechnique in Paris, which is where he had his revolutionary BIG IDEA: CURRENTS CREATE FORCESIn 1820, building on Orsted's experiment, Ampere proposed that two parallel wires carrying electric currents attract or repel each other, depending on the direction of idea, now known as Ampere's force law, gave the world the first mathematical description of how electricity and magnetism are related. He didn't stop there. Ampere laid out an entire theory of electromagnetism, introducing concepts like the electric current loop and how it produces a magnetic field, which became the basis for modern electromagnet HE'S CALLED THE FATHER OF ELECTROMAGNETISMAmpere gave the science a structure. He even coined the term electrodynamics. His careful mathematical work paved the way for later scientists like James Clerk Maxwell to create a unified theory of his honour, the unit of electric current -- the Ampere -- bears his name. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) AMPERE'S PERSONAL LIFEDespite his scientific genius, Andr-Marie Ampre's life outside the lab was marked by hardship and quiet resilience. Ampere married Julie Carron in 1799, and they had a son, Jean-Jacques just four years into their marriage, Julie died of tuberculosis in 1803, leaving Ampere death deeply affected him, and those close to him said he never fully recovered. Much like what happened when his father died, he turned inward, pouring himself into his research while raising their son modest man, Ampre avoided the spotlight and lived simply, even as his ideas lit up Europe's scientific community. He remained deeply religious all his life, often turning to faith during moments of grief and uncertainty. Ampere and his son are buried in Paris His son, Jean-Jacques, grew up to become a respected historian and literary scholar, and eventually became a member of the prestigious Acadmie Franaise, carrying forward the Ampere name in the world of letters, while his father had already immortalised it in DEATH AND LEGACYAndre-Marie Ampere died on June 10, 1836, in Marseille, France, while on a scientific inspection tour. He was he is buried in Paris's Montmartre Cemetery. His legacy? Every time an electric current flows -- from your phone charger to a massive power grid -- Ampere's equations are at work.
CBC
06-05-2025
- Science
- CBC
Is this intersection safe? New tool measures hazard level of most Montreal intersections
Researchers at Polytechnique Montréal have developed a tool that combines existing data on several variables to determine hazard levels for intersections, hoping the city will use the tool to improve problematic areas.
CBC
25-03-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Carney apologizes to Montreal massacre survivor running for Liberals after getting name and school wrong
Social Sharing Liberal Leader Mark Carney named the wrong university as the site of the 1989 Montreal massacre on Tuesday — and flubbed the last name of the survivor who is running with his party. At a campaign stop in Musquodoboit Harbour in the Nova Scotia riding of Central Nova, Carney made a nod to Liberal candidate Nathalie Provost but made two critical mistakes in the process. "You want les défenseurs de la justice sociale, like Nathalie Pronovost à Montréal," Carney said, calling Provost a defender of social justice. He then repeated Provost's name, making the same mistake and adding another. "Nathalie Pronovost, who out of the tragedy of the shootings at Concordia, became a social justice activist and she's put her hand up and she's running for us." The shooting happened at Polytechnique, the engineering school at the Université de Montréal. Carney said he apologized in a call to Provost soon after, but Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet was quick to seize on the blunders, the day after Carney had made another Quebec-related gaffe in turning down an invitation to TVA's Face-à-Face debate. "Ms. Provost will run her campaign, but she should inform her leader of who she is, what she did and what happened because it is one of the saddest, most dramatic wounds in the history of Quebec and I think Mr. Carney should know that," Blanchet said. He also posted about the incident on X, saying the Bloc had supported Provost's years of efforts to get the Liberals to change gun laws. Provost is the Liberal candidate for a suburban riding outside of Montreal, Châteauguay-Les Jardins-de-Napierville. Her candidacy was leaked to French-language media last week, days before Carney asked for an election. She is well known in Quebec and across the country for her years of lobbying for stronger gun control, alongside fellow massacre survivor Heidi Rathjen. The two survivors were honoured on Parliament Hill in February 2024 for their group PolySeSouvient's work. WATCH | Carney's two mistakes on campaign Day 2: Carney names wrong school when talking about Montreal massacre 1 hour ago Duration 0:34 Provost was shot four times at Polytechnique when she was 23. She even spoke up to the gunman before he shot all nine women in Provost's classroom. The gunman killed 14 people as well as himself and injured another 15. He said he wanted to fight feminism. Name mistake was a 'typo': Provost In an interview in French with CBC News Tuesday afternoon, Provost said she herself struggles with people's names. "For someone to butcher my name by adding two letters does not offend me because it's something I could have done," she said. "It's just a typo." The mistake he won't make twice, though, Provost said, is getting the place where the worst mass killing of women in Canadian history happened wrong. Provost said she believes Carney was abroad at the time of the massacre, but that she also believes he was affected by it, just like every other Canadian. "He got the essence of who I am," in his remarks, Provost said. "I am a woman committed to gun control because I was the victim of a shooting. All that is true." Provost noted she was the one who reached out to the Liberal Party in the first place.
CBC
17-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Quebec businessman gifts $50M to Polytechnique Montréal for disruptive innovation hub
A Quebec-born businessman and philanthropist who is donating $50 million to a Montreal university to establish an institute dedicated to "disruptive innovation" says it has never been more important to invest in homegrown talent. Pierre Lassonde's donation to Polytechnique Montréal, to be officially announced at an event Monday, comes as Canada finds itself in the midst of a tariff war with the United States, its largest trading partner and ally. Lassonde believes Canada had grown used to being dependent on the U.S., a relationship that U.S. President Donald Trump has turned on its head since he took office in January. "It was an easy relationship. Well, it isn't anymore and we have to wake up to that," Lassonde said in an interview last week from his Toronto home. "Never waste a good crisis, this is a good crisis, so let's do something about it," Lassonde added. "This hopefully will kick-start something even bigger. Every single moment matters and this one matters a great deal." WATCH | Trump tariffs are in effect. Here's how Quebec is helping businesses: Trump tariffs are in effect. Here's how Quebec is helping businesses 13 days ago Duration 2:08 Lassonde, a Polytechnique graduate and an expert in mining and precious metals, heads the school's board of directors, and the family name already adorns a number of pavilions at the institution thanks to previous donations. The engineering school, which is affiliated with the Université de Montréal, described the $50 million as the largest gift in its history. Lassonde said the idea formed as he roamed the labs and spoke to professors and students. He detected untapped potential, due in part to a lack of money. "We do have incredible brains at Polytechnique in terms of deep tech. We are in some respects at the very cutting edge of the domain," he said. That's why the new funding will be used to invest in those minds before they are recruited into the private sector. Disruptive innovation is a process where a new product or service, often with a simpler or less sophisticated design, initially targets a specific market and then gradually or eventually replaces the existing product. "None of it is going into bricks and mortar, it's all about intellectual capital and about creating intellectual properties that will really be meaningful, that will create jobs, that will create economic activity, growth in Canada hopefully, and impact the world," Lassonde said. He also hopes to spur on others with the financial means to contribute toward the creation of forward-looking projects. Though Quebecers have in recent decades started "throwing their weight around" and giving more to higher education, he said more can be done. "It's a recurring issue in Canadian universities, simply because we don't have the philanthropic model that the U.S. universities have," Lassonde said. New tools, younger minds Oussama Moutanabbir, a professor at Polytechnique, said the new institute's main focus will be developing technologies to address immediate problems. "Since the beginning of humanity, people develop technology based on what they have in hand and what they need, and that paradigm continues today. There are many universities and research labs doing the same thing," Moutanabbir said. "But Polytechnique has a commitment to focus on this innovation by tapping into new fundamental knowledge, so bridging the gap between the discovery and the application." Moutanabbir gives the example of medical imaging and cancer — developing technology that can detect the first small clusters of tumour cells that appear in the body and to test as many patients as possible. Existing technology requires exposure to an X-ray with a high dose of radiation for people who are vulnerable, so the idea is to create a new tool that is smaller and can be operated with a much lower exposure. That involves going back to the drawing board. "To address that challenge, we have to go to the fundamental nature of matter and manipulate it," Moutanabbir said. "The institute would be focusing on these kind of problems ... the driving force will always be to maximize the impact of academic research on society." Forward-looking also means the need to invest in young minds, Moutanabbir said. "The very precious resource that we need to focus on is really young scientists," he said. Lassonde said he is worried about recent measures that limit the number of international students coming to Quebec. WATCH | Quebec cutting number of foreign students that can enrol in schools in the province Quebec cutting number of foreign students that can enrol in schools in the province 19 days ago Duration 2:05 The CAQ government is reducing how many applications it will process for new international students by about 20 per cent starting this year. Last month, the province announced it would issue 20 per cent fewer acceptance certificates to foreign students this year compared to last. "I am very concerned about our ability to attract the very best minds and bring them here," Lassonde said, noting that two-thirds of doctoral candidates at Polytechnique are international students and there are not enough Quebecers to meet the demand.
