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Talks with Canadian survivors of the First World War regarding their war experiences. The number of Canadian World War I veterans who may still be living; Why they joined the service; The Canadians' role in the battle of Passchendaele; The effect that Canadians' war service had on the country's self-identity; How the interviewed veterans dealt with the horrors of war. INSET: Not all the soldier poets were angry, by C.C..

Reports on the levels of crime in Canada as opposed to that in America. Statistics for 1993 from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and Statistics Canada's Canadian Center for Justice Statistics (CCJS); Canadian's lawlessness being higher than America's; Overall crime rates of both countries; Province to state comparisons; Serious crime in Canada and the United States; Crime in selected Canadian and US cities in 1994-1995. INSET: The welfare-crime connection, by Peter Verburg.

Reports that Canada's army brass have suspended and denounced two reserve officers for creating a realistic scenario on handling an armed Indian stand. Charges of racism; Details of the practice script written by Captain Bill Green and approved by Major Larry Mack of the Saskatchewan Dragoon Regiment. INSETS: Why soldiers make very poor Girl Guides;An unseemly flock of military blimps.

Reports on the number of people suing the Canadian government for alleged physical, emotional and sexual abuse that occurred decades previously. The case of mass sterilization at the Red Deer Provincial Training School for Mental Defectives; The work of the Alberta Eugenics Board from the 1930s to the 1970s; The Sexual Sterilization Act.

Reports that Alberta's Tory government is resisting measures to bring about direct democracy, but that the time may be ripe for such legislation. View that Premier Ralph Klein seems uncomfortable with increased democratic governance, despite his populist rhetoric; Three direct-democracy proposals which are to appear before the Legislature in spring 1996. INSET: Next up--electing your local judge.

Elaborates on Canada's Governor-General's Award for Fiction going to an Albertan again. University of Alberta literature professor Greg Hollingshead's collection of short stories, `The Roaring Girl,' winning him $10,000; Political aspects to Hollinghead's acceptance speech; Other awards; Biographer and broadcaster Michael Coren commenting on the Canadian arts and culture. INSET: Smiles and upchuckles (Analysis of `The Roaring Girl'), by C.C..

Focuses on the issue of gun control in Alberta, Canada. Federal Justice Minister Alan Rock's visit to Alberta to persuade people to embrace his views on the subject; The issue of universal registration for all firearms; The gun-control bill's provisions which would allow for the confiscation of private property without compensation.

Compares the economies of Sweden and Ontario, Canada. How both cities are known for their lakes and forests; Creation of a Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress in Ontario; Commentary from leading analysts on the poor attitudes and lack of ambition in Ontario; Consideration of Saab and Volvo, the two car manufacturers in Sweden.

Discusses crime on trains in Canadian cities. Discussion of one particular case of assault on and Edmonton train; Perception that that the solution to subway crime is having no tolerance for any crimes no matter how minor; Mention of the work former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani did for the New York subway system; Discussion of transit officers and the powers they have; Statement that Canada will increase police presence in subways.

Discusses how the Russian parliament has taken steps to clamp down on minority religions, including almost all non-Russian churches registered in the country since the early 1980s. Description of the bill; How the move is discouraging for certain religious organizations.

Disputes claims by Italian archaeologists that there is no physical evidence supporting the Biblical story of the felling of the city of Jericho by Joshua. Discovery by Lorenzo Nigro and Nicolo Marchetti of the Bronze Age ramparts, intact; The location of Jericho and other discrepancies not supportive of their claim; Comments from Eliezer Segal, University of Calgary associate professor of religious studies, referencing the account in the Torah.

Notes the efforts of Liberal Canadian Senator Sharon Carstairs to protect children from corporal discipline from their parents. Her promotion of Senate Bill S-14, which would repeal Criminal Code Section 43; Section 43 as allowing so-called reasonable force as discipline; Court cases which show that Canadian courts are ill-disposed toward corporal discipline; Outlook for the bill; Reactions from several legislators; Canada's support for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Reports that Ontario Provincial Court Judge Lynn Ratushny submitted a report to Canada's federal ministers stating that some women convicted of killing their husbands were in abusive relationships; Why Justice Minister Allan Rock and Solicitor General Herb Gray called for the review and report; Battered wife syndrome; Criticism of the report; Why some, such as Jack Ramsay, see the report as further evidence of growing feminist bias.

Reports on the lack of attendance in mainline churches in Canada as of March 1997. Attendance at Edmonton, Alberta's McDougall United Church; The prediction that by 2015 the Canadian religious landscape will look different; The relationship of theology to church attendance.

Reports on the call for the deportation from Canada of alleged former members of Nazi death squads. The reason Nazi-hunters are seeking deportation instead of criminal prosecution; The controversy stirred by the appearance of a segment entitled `Canada's Dark Secret' on the television program `60 Minutes'; The accusations of the program.

Shares Canadian Terry Allan Long's version of events at a 1990 racist gathering at Provost, Alberta. Why Long, a white separatist, blames federal spies, such as Carney Milton Nerland, for provoking the events that brought in the Alberta Human Rights Commission; A press release in January 1997 from the ex-Aryan Nations leader; Other assertions by Long.

Remembers the life of Canadian multi-millionaire Francis George Winspear. His distinguished reputation as a philanthropist; General biographical data; Details of his death; His role as a founder of the Reform Party.

Questions the intentions and actions of Doug Young, minister of national defence in Canada, through a discussion of several issues including the Somalia Inquiry and bilingualism in the Canadian armed forces.

Reports on the disclosures about Canada's armed forces in January 1997. Theory of a conspiracy involving Anglophones and reservists, from retired major general Lewis MacKenzie and York University historian Jack Granatstein; Comments from MacKenzie and Granatstein; Other opinions about the disclosures.

Describes the controversy surrounding media mogul Conrad Black. His comments about Canada; His efforts to take control of half of the daily newspapers Canadians read; His annexation of Southam Inc.; The role of Hollinger Inc.

Reports on the disagreement between Canadian provinces and the federal government over the implementation of a national gun registry. A court challenge to the Firearms Act as being led by Alberta; The province's allies; Federal Justice Minister Allan Rock's threats to any province that refuses to implement the registry; Alberta Premier Ralph Klein's response to Rock's statement; The status of the legal challenge; When a ruling is expected.

Focuses on allegations of racism in the community of Vegreville, Alberta. The allegations contained in a review of Citizenship and Immigration Canada's Case Processing Centre; Resident claims that the inability of federal staffers to live in an isolated community, not racism, is the real culprit; Comments of Vegreville Mayor David Kuchrawy, Reform MP Leon Benoit, and resident Seyed Hosseiny; Finding of an `Alberta Report' survey.

Remembers Barry Davidson, nicknamed `the Scrounger,' who died in November 1996. His part in break-out attempts during the World War II; The motion picture `The Great Escape' being based on Davidson's break-out of 200 soldiers in 1944; Details of time in captivity; Details of the escape from Stalag Luft III..

Discusses the retrial of Norman Thibert of Alberta, who was convicted of second-degree murder in 1993 for the killing of his wife's lover, Alan Sherren. Retrial ordered by the Supreme Court of Canada, on grounds that the 1991 jury had not been properly instructed in so-called provocation defense in Section 232 of the Criminal Code; Reduction of Thibert's conviction to manslaughter.

Reports the ruling in Calgary, Alberta by Justice Peter Power of Calgary Court of Queen's Bench, regarding the province's family law. Ruling that the Domestic Relations Act violates the equality provisions of the Charter; Ruling for inclusion of common-law partners in provisions for maintenance after marital break-up; Controversy over whether this ruling downgrades marriage; Power's ruling in the case of Laszlo Rossu and Bonnie Taylor.

Reports on the investigation in Canada into the death of cocaine dealer Douglas James Brown. Guilty pleas by Wesley Arthur Ernst and Gordon Douglas Fleming, to charges of aggravated assault in beating Brown to death; Discovery of his dismembered body in spring 1996 outside Edson, Alberta; Others who were charged in the murder; Possible reason why Edson was the site of the murder.

Discusses the Canadian Department of Justice report on the effectiveness of gun control, which the department is partially censoring. Critics' view that the censored pages may discredit gun control; Comments by Saskatchewan Reform Party Member of Parliament Garry Breitkreuz; Comments by National Firearms Association President Dave Tomlinson. INSET: Yankee dollars fly south.

Reports that retired police detective Paul Cetinski of Edmonton, Alberta helped to stop a bank robbery in October 1996. The holdup by Matthew John Wells at a branch of the Royal Bank; The method which Cetinski used to overcome Wells, who had a knife; Charges against the robber; Other incidents from Cetinski's police career.

Reports on the case of Canadian John Ley, who shot two Indian intruders, killing one and wounding another. The subsequent burial of the body by Ley; The charges brought against Ley and his trial.

Reports that Canada's Chief of Defense, General Jean Boyle, was relieved of his duties in November 1996. His linkage with discredited Defense Minister David Collenette over Canadian involvement in military operations in Somalia; Collenette's ouster; The appointment of Doug Young as Collenette's replacement; The forerunner for Boyle's old job; The search for a replacement; The future of Canada's military after Boyle's departure; Details.

Reports that Alberta, backed by other provinces, is challenging the legality of the gun registry, which is part of Canada's Firearms Act, Bill C-68. The challenge being in the form of a reference question from the Alberta government to the Alberta Court of Appeal on the constitutional validity of the registry; Comments from Alberta Justice Minister Brian Evans and others for and against the challenge.

Reports on the increased deficit Alberta's Regional Health Authorities (RHA) amassed in 1996. Why Alberta Health is downplaying the severity of the deficits among the 17 regional boards; The accrued debt at the Westview RHA and the Edmonton Capital Health Authority; Comments form ministry spokesman Garth Norris; The options for balancing the budgets of the RHAs.

Examines a study which looks at the influence of feminists on Canada's courts. The study by political scientist Ted Morton of the University of Calgary and law student Avril Allen of the University of Toronto; Attempt to quantify this influence, rather than to explain it; The role of the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Relates that a group of young female judges in Alberta are complaining to the national commission on judge's salaries and benefits, in order to receive higher pay than male counterparts. The basis of their claim; Response from the legal community to the complaint.

Examines efforts by the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to spread its vegetarian message to schoolchildren in Alberta. PETA's mascot, a seven-foot carrot named Chris P. Carrot; PETA's message that eating meat means cruelty to animals; Lack of support from Alberta school's and provincial cattle industry.

Examines the case of Lieutenant Jeffrey Sheppard, a Canadian army doctor who was convicted in 1996 of desertion. His assertion that he was told he could use money rather than a tour of duty to repay the military for his medical education; The military's response, that he did not listen well to the recruiter; Admission of Sheppard's wife, Kim, that he did not read the contract; The military sentence on him; The couple's civil trial against the military.

Discusses a lawsuit in Toronto related to Justice Horace Krever's investigation into contamination of the Canadian Red Cross' blood supply in the 1980s. Lawsuit on behalf of two recipients of HIV-tainted transfusions who later died; Their lawyer, Ken Arenson; Documentation which suggests that Red Cross accepted HIV-tainted blood from homosexual donors, rather than risk charges of being homophobic; Comments from Durhane Wong-Rieger, president of the Canadian Hemophilia Society.

Looks at debate in Alberta over whether the government should fund HIV drug therapies known as protease inhibitors. The decision faced by Alberta Health agency; Premier Ralph Klein's view that future health-care clients should bear more responsibility for illness due to lifestyle choices, such as homosexuality.

Examines the non-passage of Bill 214, a domestic violence bill, in Alberta, Canada in August 1996. The Domestic Violence Act, and the accusations it levied at the Conservative government; Reasons for its failure to pass; Disputed features of the bill.

Examines crime reforms to be proposed in the fall of 1996 by Reform Party Member of Parliament (MP) Art Hanger. The so-called two-strikes-and-you're-out policy; Features of a Criminal Code amendment he plans to propose; Denial of the right to statutory parole for those convicted of particularly heinous offenses, such as child-killer Clifford Olson; Other proposals.

Compares crime in Canada and the United States. An analysis by University of Chicago law professor John Lott and economist David Mustard of the efficacy of so-called shall carry laws in the United States; Questions about the safety offered by Canada's gun-controlled society; Comparisons of the homicide rates of Canada and the United States; Rates of other crimes; Allan Rock, Canada's justice minister, and his comments at the Canadian Association of Police Chiefs in August 1996.

Looks at controversy in Ontario because of a lesbian who refuses to pay support to her dependent former live-in lover. The woman known publicly as H, and her lover known as M; The case before the Ontario Court of Appeal; A setback for homosexual activists who seek full legal equality between same-sex marriages and homosexual marriages.

Focuses on the CF-105 Arrow jet. Its history; The CBC motion picture about the Arrow, and when it will air on Canadian television; Funding for the picture; Actors; Screenwriter; Comments of Julius Lukasiewicz of the University of Carleton; Why the Arrow was scrapped.

Reports that a new law regarding the transportation of liquor in the Canadian province of Alberta was made into law by Steve West, the minister responsible for the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission in Canada. New Gaming and Liquor Act allows people to transport alcohol from one location that allows alcohol to another such location without specification of how that is to be done; The law a daring move by West.

Reports that Maurice Baril, head of Land Forces Command and once of the Canadian Armed Forces' nine lietutenant-generals, made a public act of contrition in July of 1996. Resumption of the Somalia Inquiry into the alleged tampering of Canadian Airborne documents; Admittance by Baril of misconduct and cowardice by members of the Royal 22nd Regiment at the Bakovici mental hospital in Bosnia in 1993 and 1994; Implication of 34 soldiers.

Shares Derrick De Kerckhove's assertion that some viewers of excitement-inducing television programming may be getting considerable exercise. De Kerckhove's work as the director of the University of Toronto's McLuhan Institute; His July 1996 speech at Telus Works: Designs on the Future; How he has tested his theory; His inspiration; The forthcoming book `Connected Intelligence'; Mass community and mass communications.

Reports that the Alberta government will pay the facility fees at all private clinics, including those at which abortions are performed. Author's view that this constitutes tax-funding for abortions; Details of the health funding, including Alberta Health's adjusting of block funding to the Regional Health Authorities.

Focuses on the 1996 study by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA) entitled `The Costs of Substance Abuse in Canada.' Study to assess the cost of cigarettes and alcohol use for all Canadians; Why critics dismiss the CCSA report; Comments about the possible benefits of smoking; What CCSA means by substance abuse; Author's accusation that the report is lopsided.

Reports on the filing of two complaints with the Alberta Human Rights Commission (AHRC) over the hiring practices of the Edmonton Fire Department. Claims by white males that the City of Edmonton exercised race and gender bias in denying them employment; The possible complaint by the Edmonton Firefighters Union; Further details of the complaints; Comments from Chief human rights commissioner Charlach MacIntosh.

Reports on the ambiguity in Canadian law regarding prenatal infants. Conditions when fetuses can be killed legally under the Criminal Code; Case of Brenda Drummond; How the abortion method called D&X constitutes murder.