Hamilton man's wife to be deported to Egypt

By Kaleigh Rogers, CBC News

Posted: Mar 30, 2013 2:58 PM ET

Last Updated: Mar 30, 2013 2:57 PM ET

 

A Hamilton man's wife is set to be deported to Egypt, despite an outpouring of support from the community and government officials like MP David Christopherson.

Thursday morning, officials at the detention centre where his wife, Wafaa Abdou, is being held told Ian Wilkie she will be deported after a pre-removal risk assessment determined there was no danger to her in her home country.

"She's still here and we're confident she'll be here for awhile," Wilkie said Saturday. "We're working with our lawyer. There's still time for us to take action."

The three children of Wafaa Abdou hold her picture. She has been held at a jail in Rexdale, Ont. since mid-January awaiting deportation. (Supplied)

Abdou, Wilkie and their three children came to Canada after they fled Syria's civil war nearly two years ago. Wilkie, a Canadian citizen, tried to sponsor his wife's immigration immediately. They were told to seek refugee status instead, a process which eventually led to a Jan. 14 appointment where Abdou was interrogated and told her claim had been denied.

Two days later, she was deemed to be a flight risk and incarcerated, where she remains now. Wilkie believes his wife's pre-removal risk assessment was expedited, though he doesn't understand why. "Usually they take two to six months to complete, though some came take as long as eight months to a year," he said. "My wife's took place in three weeks."

'This is a woman who has three Canadian children who need her and a Canadian husband who needs her. Is the most reasonable solution really to deport her?'—Ian Wilkie

Their lawyer is pursuing different routes to ensure Abdou stays in the country, but there are no guarantees. Wilkie said his biggest concern are his three children — Fatima, 6 , Yusuf, 8 and Zaynab, 11 — who he said have been devastated by the ordeal.

"My youngest daughter has been really psychologically affected in ways that are really concerning to me, from panic and anxiety attacks to waking up in the middle of the night scared that people are coming to take her away."

He said he can't help but think that his wife is receiving unfair treatment, from her seemingly expedited assessment to having her head scarf removed and family members interrogated throughout the process. He also noted Abdou was detained and declared a flight risk before deportation was even ordered.

"Is that a normal immigration process? Is that what people from Finland or Germany go through?" he asked.

For now, he and his children are spending the holiday weekend with family to prepare for a continued battle to keep their wife and mother at home. He said he's still confident they will succeed and appreciates the continued support from the community and MP Christopherson.

"At the end of the day, we all know this is a woman who has three Canadian children who need her and a Canadian husband who needs her. Is the most reasonable solution really to deport her?"

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'Food truck alley' to bring more variety to Hamilton

By Kaleigh Rogers, CBC News

Posted: Mar 30, 2013 4:56 PM ET

Last Updated: Mar 30, 2013 4:54 PM ET

 

Ever had a craving for a grilled cheese with a side of kettle corn followed by a fresh baked cupcake? This summer, if all goes as planned, you'll be able to get all your favourite Hamilton food truck grub in one convenient location.

Dubbed 'food truck alley,' a portion of land on Aberdeen Avenue at Longwood Road South is currently being leased to host local food trucks throughout the spring and summer when they don't have other obligations.

Graeme Smith, owner of Gorilla Cheese, and Mike Pitton of Southern Smoke Truck teamed up to lease the land. Their trucks are there every Thursday already, but they hope by the summer there will be at least one truck there at all times, every day of the week.

"It's something we're building right now. Once we do something with the land and put some picnic tables in we want to have as many trucks as possible at any given time," Smith said.

"We're just creating our own food truck zone."

Right now, city by-laws limit where and when food trucks can operate, meaning most trucks have a rotating schedule and sometimes find themselves in-between venues. The food truck alley will provide an area for them to serve customers during those times, as well as give customers access to new and different cuisines, Smith said.

"A lot of the Toronto trucks, because they have tight laws there, often fill up their weekends but don't have anything booked during the week," Smith said. "They can do their weekdays here. Most of them already have a Hamilton licence from Sew Hungry (food truck festival)."

So far, the response to the idea on social media and customers has been positive, Smith said, and their looking forward to it growing as they reach out to more vendors and spruce up the lot with seating. They may even host events at food truck alley, he said.

"We've already got a pretty good stable of regulars that come every week," he said.

"I think by summer it's going to be flying and it's really going to be a lot of fun."

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Hamilton cops quit for Timbits?

CBC News

Posted: Mar 31, 2013 9:40 AM ET

Last Updated: Mar 31, 2013 9:39 AM ET

 

Are the words "Timbit" and "double-double" part of your vocabulary? If the answer is yes, you must be Canadian. Despite the fact that it was bought by an American company in 1995, Tim Hortons seems to have injected itself into the centre of our Canadian identity. Started as a small doughnut shop owned by hockey legend Tim Horton, there are now more than 3,000 Tim Hortons locations. CBC Digital Archives looks at the evolution of Tim's.

After 17 years as a police officer in Hamilton, Bud Kenish left the force to open a Tim Hortons franchise. And he's not the only one — over the past several years, 20 cops in the Hamilton area have left the police force to open Tim's franchises. Why the trend?

"They prefer a doughnut franchise to the stressful and often dangerous tasks they had to perform on the beat," explains reporter Stu Patterson in this 1981 CBC-TV clip.

Ron Joyce, Tim Horton's business partner, may have inspired this trend: he was a Hamilton police officer before he went into the doughnut business with Horton. Joyce left the force and bought the franchise for the first "Tim Horton's Do-nuts" on Ottawa Street in Hamilton in 1965 (the store had been in operation since 1964). By 1967, with three stores now in the chain, Joyce became a full partner in the business with Horton.

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Police say Hamilton man's death deemed a homicide

The Canadian Press

Posted: Mar 31, 2013 11:04 AM ET

Last Updated: Mar 31, 2013 11:03 AM ET

HAMILTON, Ont. — Hamilton police say the death of a 33-year-old man Saturday night is being treated as a homicide.

Police say they were called to a King Street West residence around 7 p.m. and found the man inside. They say he had suffered from trauma before his death. The victim has been identified as Kadar Omar of Hamilton.

An autopsy is planned today.

More to come.

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Rochester Americans score 3 quick goals in third to beat Hamilton Bulldogs 4-2

The Canadian Press

Posted: Mar 31, 2013 11:11 AM ET

Last Updated: Mar 31, 2013 11:09 AM ET

 

HAMILTON, Ont. — A two-goal deficit didn't intimidate the Rochester Americans, who are trying to stay in the playoff picture.

The Americans scored three goals in three minutes in the third period en route to a 4-2 comeback win over the Hamilton Bulldogs in the American Hockey League on Saturday.

Rochester winger Evan Rankin said his team, which is fifth in the Western Conference but just five points ahead of eighth place, is desperate for points.

"With 10 games or so left in this year, every point matters," said Rankin. "So coming out in the third period down a couple of goals, it doesn't really matter. You just have to do whatever you can to get the two points by the end of the game."

Rankin had two goals for the Americans (37-26-4), while Jerome Gauthier-Leduc and Matt Ellis also scored and David Leggio made 22 saves in relief of starter Nathan Lieuwen.

Brady Vail and Steve Quailer scored for the Bulldogs (27-33-6), and Dustin Tokarski stopped 26 shots in a losing effort.

"We barely gave (Rochester) anything in two periods," said Hamilton head coach Sylvain Lefebvre . "But we came out in the third and made a few mistakes, and the puck ended up in the net.

"It's very disappointing, because we really were having a good game up to that point, and we just let it go."

The Bulldogs seemed to be well on the way to victory after two periods, but the Americans turned the game on its head in the third.

Rochester denied Tokarski's shutout bid at 3:28 of the period, when Corey Tropp found Rankin in space on the left wing and he skated to the faceoff dot before snapping a quick wrist shot past the goaltender's outstretched glove.

It was Rankin who struck again to level the game a minute and a half later.

The winger skated in from the right and fired a low wrist shot that hit a sliding Bulldog defender, but continued to pressure the puck before Hamilton's Zack Stortini tipped it past his own goaltender at 5:52.

Rochester completed its rapid comeback in another minute, as Gauthier-Leduc's shot from the point travelled untouched through a maze of players in front, and eluded Tokarski at 6:53 of the third.

The Americans added an empty-net goal through Ellis at 18:43.

Leggio — who has two shutouts at Copps Coliseum this season — continued to haunt the Bulldogs. He produced several highlight-reel worthy saves in the third as his team held on to record its comeback victory.

Rankin gave credit to Leggio for his excellent relief appearance on Saturday.

"To be able to come in at the beginning of the second period and still end up with a star at the end of the game, that's pretty impressive," said Rankin. "He shut the door for us and really helped us out."

Vail had the first scoring chance of the night five minutes into the opening period when a Rochester giveaway gave him a clear path to Lieuwen.

He fired a low wrist shot from the slot that Lieuwen kicked aside, but tested the goaltender again on the rebound with a backhand effort.

Vail was frustrated on that occasion, but found his first professional goal four minutes later.

Peter Merth controlled the puck at the right point as traffic gathered in front of Lieuwen, and released a low shot that deflected off Vail as he fell and trickled past the Rochester goaltender at 8:46 of the first.

It was a dominant opening period for the Bulldogs, who outshot their opposition 13-6 and threatened to double their lead on several occasions before the period's end.

Lieuwen had played on after being shaken up in a collision with Hamilton's Joey Tenute in the early minutes of the first, but was replaced by Leggio to begin the second period, having stopped 12 shots.

The physicality of the Bulldogs had them winning puck battles at both ends of the ice in the second, and even while their lead remained at one, they outplayed the Americans by a wide margin in the period.

With less than a minute to play in the second, the line of Quailer, Vail and Leblanc struck for its second goal of the game, as Jarred Tinordi's point shot tipped off the stick of Quailer and bounced past Leggio at 19:16.

Lefebvre was impressed with the line's first outing together.

"They were good," he said. "They were on the puck and they were good on the forecheck and created turnovers. Vail had a couple of chances in the first period, and they scored both of our goals."

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Abbotsford Heat defeat Bulldogs 4-3

The Canadian Press

Posted: Mar 30, 2013 9:42 AM ET

Last Updated: Mar 30, 2013 9:41 AM ET

 

HAMILTON, Ont. — Everything that could have gone right did for the Abbotsford Heat in the opening period of their AHL rematch with the Hamilton Bulldogs on Friday.

The Heat scored three goals in the first, including two that deflected off a Hamilton defenceman, and held on to beat the Bulldogs 4-3.

Heat centre Ben Walter explained that his team's success in the first period was a product of both luck and hard work.

"Everything was going right for us," said Walter. "We got some good bounces, but we also worked hard. After the last game where we had a tough start against them, we wanted to come out hard and have a better one.

"We put pucks in when we had to, and it was nice to get a couple on the power play too."

Walter had a goal and two assists, while Max Reinhart, Sven Baertschi and Ben Street also scored for the Heat (31-29-9) and Danny Taylor made 24 saves.

Morgan Ellis, Gabriel Dumont and Alex Belzile scored for the Bulldogs (26-33-6), while Robert Mayer stopped 29 shots.

The game began at a breakneck pace, with the Heat scoring just over a minute into the game.

Drew MacKenzie took a speculative wrist shot from the left point that Mayer bobbled, and Walter arrived in the slot to slide the rebound past the Hamilton goaltender at 1:04.

The Bulldogs nearly tied the game a minute later, when defenceman Frederic St. Denis' fluttering wrist shot from the point caught Taylor unaware and hit the far post before bouncing to safety.

Instead, it was the Heat who scored to double their advantage at 6:29, as Walter registered his second point of the opening period.

Abbotsford found itself on the power play when Mayer was whistled for interference. Walter then threaded a pass to Reinhart on the blue-line, and his ensuing slapshot took a big deflection off the stick of Hamilton defender Jarred Tinordi and rocketed over the shoulder of the stunned Mayer.

Special teams let the Bulldogs down on that occasion, but it was Hamilton's own power-play unit that found them their opening goal late in the first.

With Zach McKelvie serving a roughing penalty, the Bulldogs established traffic in front of Taylor and Ellis fired a slapshot that beat the screened goaltender over the far shoulder at 14:25.

Hamilton's momentum proved short-lived, however, as Abbotsford re-established its two-goal lead through another bizarre bounce off the unfortunate Tinordi. Baertschi controlled the puck in the corner, and attempted a centring pass that clipped the skate of the Hamilton defenceman and bounced up and over the shoulder of Mayer at 18:38 of the first.

Walter was credited with an assist on the goal, registering his third point of the period.

Sent down by the Montreal Canadiens earlier Friday, Gabriel Dumont showed his quality to score Hamilton's second goal of the night at 11:22 of the second.

Dumont skated in from the left wing and fired a wrist shot that hit a player in front of goal, but followed up to shovel a second effort past Taylor.

But, just as they had in the first period, the Bulldogs followed a goal by taking a penalty and conceding a power-play goal.

After Greg Pateryn was called for hooking at 12:09, Baertschi took a wrist shot from the right wing that careened off the glass behind the Hamilton net and landed in front of Street, whose weak shot caught Mayer out of position to give the Heat a 4-2 lead at 13:08 of the second period.

Walter was proud of his team's ability to respond to Hamilton's goals.

"That's big for a team when you can answer back like that, especially on the road," said the centreman. "They were starting to get some momentum when they had those goals, and we were able to shut that down."

He credited his team's power play unit for its opportunism.

"We were loose out there," said Walter. "We weren't trying too hard or gripping our sticks too tight. We were just making the plays that were available and taking shots when we could.

"We did get a couple good bounces, so that always helps."

The Bulldogs gained a late consolation goal at 11:40 of the third, when Belzile tipped a pass toward Taylor's net that Abbotsford's McKelvie inexplicably swept past his own goaltender.

Dumont argued that his team made too many mistakes to warrant a win on this occasion.

"I think we gave up too many big scoring chances," said the Bulldog centre. "We had too many major breakdowns on defence. We would be playing really good and then all of a sudden we give up a 3-on-1 or a breakaway for the other team, a big collapse.

"Mayer was there for us tonight but we didn't really help him."

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Mother's Pizza comes back to Hamilton

By Lisa Polewski, CBC News

Posted: Mar 29, 2013 9:18 AM ET

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2013 10:08 AM ET

 

Old is new again as Mother's Pizza prepares to re-open its doors in Hamilton.

Co-owners Geeve Sandhu and Brian Alger aren't fooling around with the restaurant venture, even though they chose April Fool's Day to re-introduce Hamilton's own Mother's Pizza to the local restaurant scene. On April 1, the 701 Queenston Road location will be opening to the public, bringing back the Mother's brand that hasn't been seen in the city since the early 1990s.

Sandhu, who has been in the restaurant business his whole life and owns several pubs around Hamilton and Burlington, said he's excited to bring Mother's back to Hamilton where it all began.

"This whole area is kind of being revitalized," said Sandhu of the Queenston Road location. "It's become a restaurant hub right now."

Alger, who bought the Mother's trademark in 2008 and teamed up with Sandhu in 2010, said he grew up with Mother's and wanted to bring it back into the marketplace.

'The nice thing is that Mother's started here in Hamilton. So a lot of the old franchisees … they're all still around, and they're all eager to come in and help, so we've got a bit of a secret weapon.'—Brian Alger, co-owner Mother's Pizza

"The nice thing is that Mother's started here in Hamilton," said Alger. "So a lot of the old franchisees … they're all still around, and they're all eager to come in and help, so we've got a bit of a secret weapon."

Alger said they are keeping some of the classic design elements of the restaurant, but they also updated the décor to give the environment a more contemporary feel.

"We recognized early on that, from a brand standpoint, it's nice to have that old nostalgic brand," said Alger. "But you also want to make it relevant and you want new guests to be able to come in here and feel welcome as well."

Sandhu said one of the big reasons for bringing Mother's back was to fill the need for family-friendly restaurants with good value.

"I have two kids, and sometimes we struggle in terms of where we're going to eat," said Sandhu. "I think that family segment is missing right now, and I think we're going to slot nicely right into it. We're going to offer a real kid-friendly environment, a real family-friendly environment."

The interior will have elements of the classic restaurant chain, as well as added contemporary touches. (Lisa Polewski/CBC)

Steve Tate, currently working in advertising in Toronto, worked at a Mother's Pizza location in Brampton about 30 years ago. Tate said he had a lot of fun working there as a chef when he was 17, and he hopes the new location will stay true to its legacy of good pizza.

"It was a lot of fun," said Tate. "I guess it's easy to say that with jobs when you're a kid, because really they're not that hard, but it was fun. I met a lot of people there that I was friends with for a lot of years."

One thing Tate said he hopes has changed is the uniform, which he remembers as being "horrible."

"Personally, I wanted to go back to the old uniforms," laughed Alger. "But we recognize the fact that we need people to work here, and we want people to take pride in where they are too."

The new uniforms will pay homage to the old ones, but Alger said they will be more in line with today's fashions.

Alger and Sandhu said they are working from the original pizza dough and sauce recipes, and although they have updated the menu to include some more items - including vegetarian options - they said the value will be just as good as it ever was.

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Increasing number of Hamilton teachers making more than $100K

By Samantha Craggs, CBC News

Posted: Mar 29, 2013 9:32 AM ET

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2013 9:30 AM ET

 

An increasing number of Hamilton's high school teachers are making more than $100,000, according to this year's sunshine list.

The list, released annually, is an Ontario government disclosure of public-sector salaries. It provides the salary details for anyone on the provincial payroll earning $100,000 or more.

Thirty-four high school teachers in the public board and 54 in the Catholic board made six figures in 2012, according to the sunshine list released Thursday afternoon.

Many of the teachers are department heads, which means an additional $5,471 allowance for overseeing their departments, said Patrick Daly, chair of the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board. This is in addition to the maximum $94,622-per-year salary for a teacher at the top of the grid.

"In our board, our high schools are very large," Daly said. "In some departments, such as English and religion and math, you have a number of teachers."

Department head duties include managing the curriculum within those departments, overseeing programs and supporting principals, Daly said.

In the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, teachers making six figures likely do extra work teaching continuing education classes nights or over the summer, said associate director Ken Bain.

"The answer is really within the area of community and continuing education."

Last year's list shows 21 teachers making six figures in the public board in 2011. All but one are identified only as "teachers" without specifying high school or elementary.

There are no Catholic board teachers on last year's list.

In 2012, 260 employees of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board earned more than $100,000. In 2011, there were 224.

Director John Malloy topped the public board list at $231,980.74 plus $11,236.51 in benefits. Malloy was the only staff member to crack the $200,000 mark. In 2011, Malloy earned $220,980.80 and $10,816.58 in taxable benefits.

One hundred seventy-three employees of the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board earned six figures compared to 104 the year before.

Director Patricia Amos earned $214,000.96 and $3,346.11 in benefits, the highest in the board. That's up from $208,558.98 the year before.

Teacher salary grids are determined through negotiations between provincial unions and the province. The maximum salary is the same at every school board, Daly said.

The increasing number of staff on the sunshine list shows why the province should increase the minimum limit for the disclosure list, he said.

"I understand the need for transparency and the public's right to know, but I strongly suggest that the government increase the $100,000," he said.

"(The list) was clearly for the public to be aware of what peope on the high end were making. I don't think it was ever intended to list hundreds of thousands of names."

CBC.ca is publishing the entire sunshine list in an online format you can filter and search yourself. Click on the categories at the bottom of this page to search the lists.

Follow these three steps below to filter and isolate the information you're looking for.

You'll need to set the tables to Google's "Classic look," which you can do by clicking the "Help" tab and then clicking "Back to Classic look."

How-to graphic

Some search tips

• You must click the "clear filter" button between searches.

• If you don't see the salary information after conducting a search, click on the small triangle on the right side of the page. This will make visible the columns you can't see.

Read and search the sunshine list, broken down into categories:

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Mother's Pizza comes back to Hamilton

By Lisa Polewski, CBC News

Posted: Mar 29, 2013 9:18 AM ET

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2013 10:08 AM ET

 

Old is new again as Mother's Pizza prepares to re-open its doors in Hamilton.

Co-owners Geeve Sandhu and Brian Alger aren't fooling around with the restaurant venture, even though they chose April Fool's Day to re-introduce Hamilton's own Mother's Pizza to the local restaurant scene. On April 1, the 701 Queenston Road location will be opening to the public, bringing back the Mother's brand that hasn't been seen in the city since the early 1990s.

Sandhu, who has been in the restaurant business his whole life and owns several pubs around Hamilton and Burlington, said he's excited to bring Mother's back to Hamilton where it all began.

"This whole area is kind of being revitalized," said Sandhu of the Queenston Road location. "It's become a restaurant hub right now."

Alger, who bought the Mother's trademark in 2008 and teamed up with Sandhu in 2010, said he grew up with Mother's and wanted to bring it back into the marketplace.

'The nice thing is that Mother's started here in Hamilton. So a lot of the old franchisees … they're all still around, and they're all eager to come in and help, so we've got a bit of a secret weapon.'—Brian Alger, co-owner Mother's Pizza

"The nice thing is that Mother's started here in Hamilton," said Alger. "So a lot of the old franchisees … they're all still around, and they're all eager to come in and help, so we've got a bit of a secret weapon."

Alger said they are keeping some of the classic design elements of the restaurant, but they also updated the décor to give the environment a more contemporary feel.

"We recognized early on that, from a brand standpoint, it's nice to have that old nostalgic brand," said Alger. "But you also want to make it relevant and you want new guests to be able to come in here and feel welcome as well."

Sandhu said one of the big reasons for bringing Mother's back was to fill the need for family-friendly restaurants with good value.

"I have two kids, and sometimes we struggle in terms of where we're going to eat," said Sandhu. "I think that family segment is missing right now, and I think we're going to slot nicely right into it. We're going to offer a real kid-friendly environment, a real family-friendly environment."

The interior will have elements of the classic restaurant chain, as well as added contemporary touches. (Lisa Polewski/CBC)

Steve Tate, currently working in advertising in Toronto, worked at a Mother's Pizza location in Brampton about 30 years ago. Tate said he had a lot of fun working there as a chef when he was 17, and he hopes the new location will stay true to its legacy of good pizza.

"It was a lot of fun," said Tate. "I guess it's easy to say that with jobs when you're a kid, because really they're not that hard, but it was fun. I met a lot of people there that I was friends with for a lot of years."

One thing Tate said he hopes has changed is the uniform, which he remembers as being "horrible."

"Personally, I wanted to go back to the old uniforms," laughed Alger. "But we recognize the fact that we need people to work here, and we want people to take pride in where they are too."

The new uniforms will pay homage to the old ones, but Alger said they will be more in line with today's fashions.

Alger and Sandhu said they are working from the original pizza dough and sauce recipes, and although they have updated the menu to include some more items - including vegetarian options - they said the value will be just as good as it ever was.

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Pope denounces 'violent fundamentalism' at Good Friday procession

Pope Francis praised the "friendship of so many Muslim brothers" during the Good Friday procession that re-enacts Jesus Christ's crucifixion and this year was dedicated to the plight of Christians in the Middle East.

The nighttime Way of the Cross procession at Rome's Colosseum is one of the most dramatic rituals of Holy Week, when Christians commemorate the death and resurrection of Christ. With torches lighting the way, the faithful carried the cross to different stations where meditations and prayers were read out recalling the final hours of Christ's life.

This year, the meditations read out were composed by young Lebanese faithful. Many of the prayers referred to the plight of Mideast Christians and called for an end to "violent fundamentalism," terrorism and the "wars and violence which in our days devastate various countries in the Middle East."

Francis, who became pope just weeks ago, chose, however, to stress Christians' positive relations with Muslims in the region in his brief comments at the end of the ceremony.

He recalled Benedict XVI's 2012 visit to Lebanon when "we saw the beauty and the strong bond of communion joining Christians together in that land and the friendship of our Muslim brothers and sisters and so many others," he said. "That occasion was a sign to the Middle East and to the whole world: a sign of hope."

Before becoming pope, Francis was Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, and he long cultivated warm relations with Muslim leaders in his native Argentina.

Pilgrims throng Jerusalem

In Jerusalem, hundreds of Christians streamed through the cobblestone alleyways of the Old City on Friday, hoisting wooden crosses and chanting prayers to mark the crucifixion of Jesus.

Throngs of pilgrims walked a traditional Good Friday procession that retraces Jesus' steps along the Via Dolorosa, Latin for the "Way of Suffering." They followed his 14 stations, saying a prayer at each and ending at the ancient Holy Sepulcher church.

Along the route, Franciscan friars in brown robes chanted prayers in Latin and explained the different stations to crowds through a megaphone. One man dressed as Jesus wearing a crown of thorns was flanked by men posing as Roman soldiers and had fake blood dripping down his chest as he lugged a giant cross down the street.

Christian Catholic pilgrim lights a candle inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, traditionally believed to be the site of the crucifixion of Christ, in Jerusalem's Old City. (Bernat Armangue/Associated Press)

"The most perfect love that was ever seen in the world was when Jesus died for us. He showed us the perfection of love," said Mary.

Good Friday events kicked off with a morning service at the cavernous Holy Sepulcher, which was built on the place where tradition holds Jesus was crucified, briefly entombed and resurrected. Clergy dressed in colorful robes entered through the church's large wooden doors as worshippers prayed in the church courtyard.

Later Friday, a service was due in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, built atop the traditional site of Jesus' birth. Christians believe Jesus was crucified on Good Friday and resurrected on Easter Sunday.

Roman Catholic and Protestant congregations that observe the new, Gregorian calendar, mark Easter this week. Orthodox Christians, who follow the old, Julian calendar, will mark Good Friday in May.

Less than two per cent of the population of Israel and the Palestinian territories is Christian, mostly split between Catholicism and Orthodox streams of Christianity. Christians in the West Bank wanting to attend services in Jerusalem must obtain permission from Israeli authorities.

Israel's Tourism Ministry said it expects some 150,000 visitors in Israel during Easter week and the Jewish festival of Passover, which coincide this year.

Filipino devotees re-enact crucifixion

Devotees in villages in the northern Philippines took part in a bloody annual ritual to mark Good Friday, a celebration that mixes Roman Catholic devotion and Filipino folk beliefs and sees some re-enact the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

The crucified devotees spent several minutes nailed to crosses in Pampanga province while thousands of tourists watched and took photos, which the church discourages. Earlier in the day, hooded male penitents trudged through the province's villages under the blazing sun while flagellating their bleeding backs with makeshift whips. Others carried wooden crosses to dramatize Christ's sacrifice.

Devotees undergo the hardships in the belief that such extreme sacrifices are a way to atone for their sins, attain miracle cures for illnesses or give thanks to God.

Ruben Enaje (centre), 52, was one of several devotees in northern Philippines to re-enact the crucifixion of Jesus Christ by being nailed to a cross. (Romeo Ranoco/Reuters)

Alex Laranang, a 58-year-old vendor who was the first to be nailed to a cross Friday, said he was doing it "for good luck and for my family to be healthy."

It was the 27th crucifixion for sign painter Ruben Enaje, 52, one of the most popular penitents from San Pedro Cutud village. He began his yearly rite after surviving a fall from a building.

Enaje screamed in pain as men dressed as Roman soldiers hammered stainless steel nails into his palms and feet. A wireless microphone carried his voice to loudspeakers for everyone watching to hear.

His cross was raised and he was hanged there for several minutes under the searing afternoon sun before the nails were pulled out and he was taken on a stretcher to a first aid station.

"It's intriguing and fascinating what makes people do something like this, how you can believe so much that you make yourself suffer to that extent," said Dita Tittesass, a tourist from Denmark.

Remigio de la Cruz, the chief of San Pedro Cutud village, explained that the practice began in his village in the 1950s.

Archbishop Jose Palma, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, told the church-run Radio Veritas that the practice is "not the desire of Jesus Christ."

"We are aware that this has been practiced long before ... but we still hope that this will not be done any more," he said. "We should all concentrate on prayers."

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Increasing number of Hamilton teachers making more than $100K

By Samantha Craggs, CBC News

Posted: Mar 29, 2013 9:32 AM ET

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2013 9:30 AM ET

 

An increasing number of Hamilton's high school teachers are making more than $100,000, according to this year's sunshine list.

The list, released annually, is an Ontario government disclosure of public-sector salaries. It provides the salary details for anyone on the provincial payroll earning $100,000 or more.

Thirty-four high school teachers in the public board and 54 in the Catholic board made six figures in 2012, according to the sunshine list released Thursday afternoon.

Many of the teachers are department heads, which means an additional $5,471 allowance for overseeing their departments, said Patrick Daly, chair of the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board. This is in addition to the maximum $94,622-per-year salary for a teacher at the top of the grid.

"In our board, our high schools are very large," Daly said. "In some departments, such as English and religion and math, you have a number of teachers."

Department head duties include managing the curriculum within those departments, overseeing programs and supporting principals, Daly said.

In the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, teachers making six figures likely do extra work teaching continuing education classes nights or over the summer, said associate director Ken Bain.

"The answer is really within the area of community and continuing education."

Last year's list shows 21 teachers making six figures in the public board in 2011. All but one are identified only as "teachers" without specifying high school or elementary.

There are no Catholic board teachers on last year's list.

In 2012, 260 employees of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board earned more than $100,000. In 2011, there were 224.

Director John Malloy topped the public board list at $231,980.74 plus $11,236.51 in benefits. Malloy was the only staff member to crack the $200,000 mark. In 2011, Malloy earned $220,980.80 and $10,816.58 in taxable benefits.

One hundred seventy-three employees of the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board earned six figures compared to 104 the year before.

Director Patricia Amos earned $214,000.96 and $3,346.11 in benefits, the highest in the board. That's up from $208,558.98 the year before.

Teacher salary grids are determined through negotiations between provincial unions and the province. The maximum salary is the same at every school board, Daly said.

The increasing number of staff on the sunshine list shows why the province should increase the minimum limit for the disclosure list, he said.

"I understand the need for transparency and the public's right to know, but I strongly suggest that the government increase the $100,000," he said.

"(The list) was clearly for the public to be aware of what peope on the high end were making. I don't think it was ever intended to list hundreds of thousands of names."

CBC.ca is publishing the entire sunshine list in an online format you can filter and search yourself. Click on the categories at the bottom of this page to search the lists.

Follow these three steps below to filter and isolate the information you're looking for.

You'll need to set the tables to Google's "Classic look," which you can do by clicking the "Help" tab and then clicking "Back to Classic look."

How-to graphic

Some search tips

• You must click the "clear filter" button between searches.

• If you don't see the salary information after conducting a search, click on the small triangle on the right side of the page. This will make visible the columns you can't see.

Read and search the sunshine list, broken down into categories:

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How an ancient astronomical error affects Easter

How a misunderstanding of astronomy can make us wait up to a month to celebrate Easter.

By Kaleigh Rogers, CBC News

Posted: Mar 29, 2013 9:49 AM ET

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2013 11:15 PM ET

 

Easter weekend brings a lot of things to mind — religion, family, food, bunnies and Easter eggs, to name a few. The moon usually isn't on that list, but it actually has a big influence over the date on which the holiday weekend falls.

In fact, an ancient misunderstanding of astronomy can make us wait up to a month to celebrate Easter, depending on the year.

For hundreds of years, churches have looked to the sky to determine when they should celebrate Easter, trying to align it with the Vernal, or Spring, equinox. The holiday is a time of renewal and rebirth for the Christian church, so celebrating around the dawn of Spring made sense.

But way back when people were determining the rules for when the date would fall, humanity's understanding of the sky was a little lacking. Robert Cockcroft, a McMaster University astronomer and physicist, explains.

"Back in 325 A.D. these rules were made, but they couldn't accurately predict astronomical events because they didn't understand it all, so they set up estimations," Cockcroft said.

The church decided Easter would be celebrated on the first Sunday after a full moon that falls either on or after the Spring equinox.

The Spring equinox, Cockcroft explained, is the point in the year when the path of the sun crosses the line representing the projection of the Earth's equator, meaning it's making its way back to the northern hemisphere and spring is on the way.

Unfortunately, when they were making the rules nearly 1,700 years ago, they didn't realize the date of the equinox changes slightly every year. It can occur on March 19, 20 or 21 (most often on the 20), but the church fixed the date for the equinox at March 21.

Church officials also followed an ecclesiastical calendar to determine when the full moon would fall — the 14th of a "lunar month" — which isn't always the case, either.

"Those understandings of the words 'full moon' and 'Vernal equinox' are not the astronomical definition of those terms, which is where the complication arises," Cockcroft said.

Out of sync

Most years the church's definitions are pretty much in harmony with the actual astronomical events taking place. This year, for example, the equinox occured at 11:02 a.m. on March 20 and the first full moon to follow occurred early Wednesday, so Sunday's date is accurate.

But some years, the discrepancies mean the two dates fall out of sync: six years from now, the church's Easter date falls almost a full month after the astronomical Easter date.

"I can imagine it would be confusing during the years when they don't agree," Cockcroft said.

And it gets even more complicated depending on where in the world you're celebrating Easter.

Western Christianity follows the Gregorian calendar — that's the civic calendar we follow — to determine the date. Eastern Christianity follows the Julian calendar, which is 13 days out of sync.

Therefore, Easter can fall on any Sunday between April 4 and May 8 for Eastern Christians; this year it's May 5.

Cockcroft explained it's not just churches that can get caught up in old traditions that don't mesh with new understandings; it happens all the time in science.

"This is how science works as well. We look for a pattern and categorize it, then realize later on those categories are incorrect, but we're kind of stuck with them," he said, pointing to the categorization of stars as an example.

"Rather than label stars hottest to coolest from A to Z, we label the hottest O, followed by B, then A, F. It's because it's arranged differently than when we first made the rules."

On the bright side, Easter may change from year to year and hemisphere to hemisphere, but at least the cream eggs stay the same.

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Pope denounces 'violent fundamentalism' at Good Friday procession

Pope Francis praised the "friendship of so many Muslim brothers" during the Good Friday procession that re-enacts Jesus Christ's crucifixion and this year was dedicated to the plight of Christians in the Middle East.

The nighttime Way of the Cross procession at Rome's Colosseum is one of the most dramatic rituals of Holy Week, when Christians commemorate the death and resurrection of Christ. With torches lighting the way, the faithful carried the cross to different stations where meditations and prayers were read out recalling the final hours of Christ's life.

This year, the meditations read out were composed by young Lebanese faithful. Many of the prayers referred to the plight of Mideast Christians and called for an end to "violent fundamentalism," terrorism and the "wars and violence which in our days devastate various countries in the Middle East."

Francis, who became pope just weeks ago, chose, however, to stress Christians' positive relations with Muslims in the region in his brief comments at the end of the ceremony.

He recalled Benedict XVI's 2012 visit to Lebanon when "we saw the beauty and the strong bond of communion joining Christians together in that land and the friendship of our Muslim brothers and sisters and so many others," he said. "That occasion was a sign to the Middle East and to the whole world: a sign of hope."

Before becoming pope, Francis was Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, and he long cultivated warm relations with Muslim leaders in his native Argentina.

Pilgrims throng Jerusalem

In Jerusalem, hundreds of Christians streamed through the cobblestone alleyways of the Old City on Friday, hoisting wooden crosses and chanting prayers to mark the crucifixion of Jesus.

Throngs of pilgrims walked a traditional Good Friday procession that retraces Jesus' steps along the Via Dolorosa, Latin for the "Way of Suffering." They followed his 14 stations, saying a prayer at each and ending at the ancient Holy Sepulcher church.

Along the route, Franciscan friars in brown robes chanted prayers in Latin and explained the different stations to crowds through a megaphone. One man dressed as Jesus wearing a crown of thorns was flanked by men posing as Roman soldiers and had fake blood dripping down his chest as he lugged a giant cross down the street.

Christian Catholic pilgrim lights a candle inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, traditionally believed to be the site of the crucifixion of Christ, in Jerusalem's Old City. (Bernat Armangue/Associated Press)

"The most perfect love that was ever seen in the world was when Jesus died for us. He showed us the perfection of love," said Mary.

Good Friday events kicked off with a morning service at the cavernous Holy Sepulcher, which was built on the place where tradition holds Jesus was crucified, briefly entombed and resurrected. Clergy dressed in colorful robes entered through the church's large wooden doors as worshippers prayed in the church courtyard.

Later Friday, a service was due in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, built atop the traditional site of Jesus' birth. Christians believe Jesus was crucified on Good Friday and resurrected on Easter Sunday.

Roman Catholic and Protestant congregations that observe the new, Gregorian calendar, mark Easter this week. Orthodox Christians, who follow the old, Julian calendar, will mark Good Friday in May.

Less than two per cent of the population of Israel and the Palestinian territories is Christian, mostly split between Catholicism and Orthodox streams of Christianity. Christians in the West Bank wanting to attend services in Jerusalem must obtain permission from Israeli authorities.

Israel's Tourism Ministry said it expects some 150,000 visitors in Israel during Easter week and the Jewish festival of Passover, which coincide this year.

Filipino devotees re-enact crucifixion

Devotees in villages in the northern Philippines took part in a bloody annual ritual to mark Good Friday, a celebration that mixes Roman Catholic devotion and Filipino folk beliefs and sees some re-enact the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

The crucified devotees spent several minutes nailed to crosses in Pampanga province while thousands of tourists watched and took photos, which the church discourages. Earlier in the day, hooded male penitents trudged through the province's villages under the blazing sun while flagellating their bleeding backs with makeshift whips. Others carried wooden crosses to dramatize Christ's sacrifice.

Devotees undergo the hardships in the belief that such extreme sacrifices are a way to atone for their sins, attain miracle cures for illnesses or give thanks to God.

Ruben Enaje (centre), 52, was one of several devotees in northern Philippines to re-enact the crucifixion of Jesus Christ by being nailed to a cross. (Romeo Ranoco/Reuters)

Alex Laranang, a 58-year-old vendor who was the first to be nailed to a cross Friday, said he was doing it "for good luck and for my family to be healthy."

It was the 27th crucifixion for sign painter Ruben Enaje, 52, one of the most popular penitents from San Pedro Cutud village. He began his yearly rite after surviving a fall from a building.

Enaje screamed in pain as men dressed as Roman soldiers hammered stainless steel nails into his palms and feet. A wireless microphone carried his voice to loudspeakers for everyone watching to hear.

His cross was raised and he was hanged there for several minutes under the searing afternoon sun before the nails were pulled out and he was taken on a stretcher to a first aid station.

"It's intriguing and fascinating what makes people do something like this, how you can believe so much that you make yourself suffer to that extent," said Dita Tittesass, a tourist from Denmark.

Remigio de la Cruz, the chief of San Pedro Cutud village, explained that the practice began in his village in the 1950s.

Archbishop Jose Palma, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, told the church-run Radio Veritas that the practice is "not the desire of Jesus Christ."

"We are aware that this has been practiced long before ... but we still hope that this will not be done any more," he said. "We should all concentrate on prayers."

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How an ancient astronomical error affects Easter

How a misunderstanding of astronomy can make us wait up to a month to celebrate Easter.

By Kaleigh Rogers, CBC News

Posted: Mar 29, 2013 9:49 AM ET

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2013 11:15 PM ET

 

Easter weekend brings a lot of things to mind — religion, family, food, bunnies and Easter eggs, to name a few. The moon usually isn't on that list, but it actually has a big influence over the date on which the holiday weekend falls.

In fact, an ancient misunderstanding of astronomy can make us wait up to a month to celebrate Easter, depending on the year.

For hundreds of years, churches have looked to the sky to determine when they should celebrate Easter, trying to align it with the Vernal, or Spring, equinox. The holiday is a time of renewal and rebirth for the Christian church, so celebrating around the dawn of Spring made sense.

But way back when people were determining the rules for when the date would fall, humanity's understanding of the sky was a little lacking. Robert Cockcroft, a McMaster University astronomer and physicist, explains.

"Back in 325 A.D. these rules were made, but they couldn't accurately predict astronomical events because they didn't understand it all, so they set up estimations," Cockcroft said.

The church decided Easter would be celebrated on the first Sunday after a full moon that falls either on or after the Spring equinox.

The Spring equinox, Cockcroft explained, is the point in the year when the path of the sun crosses the line representing the projection of the Earth's equator, meaning it's making its way back to the northern hemisphere and spring is on the way.

Unfortunately, when they were making the rules nearly 1,700 years ago, they didn't realize the date of the equinox changes slightly every year. It can occur on March 19, 20 or 21 (most often on the 20), but the church fixed the date for the equinox at March 21.

Church officials also followed an ecclesiastical calendar to determine when the full moon would fall — the 14th of a "lunar month" — which isn't always the case, either.

"Those understandings of the words 'full moon' and 'Vernal equinox' are not the astronomical definition of those terms, which is where the complication arises," Cockcroft said.

Out of sync

Most years the church's definitions are pretty much in harmony with the actual astronomical events taking place. This year, for example, the equinox occured at 11:02 a.m. on March 20 and the first full moon to follow occurred early Wednesday, so Sunday's date is accurate.

But some years, the discrepancies mean the two dates fall out of sync: six years from now, the church's Easter date falls almost a full month after the astronomical Easter date.

"I can imagine it would be confusing during the years when they don't agree," Cockcroft said.

And it gets even more complicated depending on where in the world you're celebrating Easter.

Western Christianity follows the Gregorian calendar — that's the civic calendar we follow — to determine the date. Eastern Christianity follows the Julian calendar, which is 13 days out of sync.

Therefore, Easter can fall on any Sunday between April 4 and May 8 for Eastern Christians; this year it's May 5.

Cockcroft explained it's not just churches that can get caught up in old traditions that don't mesh with new understandings; it happens all the time in science.

"This is how science works as well. We look for a pattern and categorize it, then realize later on those categories are incorrect, but we're kind of stuck with them," he said, pointing to the categorization of stars as an example.

"Rather than label stars hottest to coolest from A to Z, we label the hottest O, followed by B, then A, F. It's because it's arranged differently than when we first made the rules."

On the bright side, Easter may change from year to year and hemisphere to hemisphere, but at least the cream eggs stay the same.

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Abbotsford Heat defeat Bulldogs 4-3

The Canadian Press

Posted: Mar 30, 2013 9:42 AM ET

Last Updated: Mar 30, 2013 9:41 AM ET

 

HAMILTON, Ont. — Everything that could have gone right did for the Abbotsford Heat in the opening period of their AHL rematch with the Hamilton Bulldogs on Friday.

The Heat scored three goals in the first, including two that deflected off a Hamilton defenceman, and held on to beat the Bulldogs 4-3.

Heat centre Ben Walter explained that his team's success in the first period was a product of both luck and hard work.

"Everything was going right for us," said Walter. "We got some good bounces, but we also worked hard. After the last game where we had a tough start against them, we wanted to come out hard and have a better one.

"We put pucks in when we had to, and it was nice to get a couple on the power play too."

Walter had a goal and two assists, while Max Reinhart, Sven Baertschi and Ben Street also scored for the Heat (31-29-9) and Danny Taylor made 24 saves.

Morgan Ellis, Gabriel Dumont and Alex Belzile scored for the Bulldogs (26-33-6), while Robert Mayer stopped 29 shots.

The game began at a breakneck pace, with the Heat scoring just over a minute into the game.

Drew MacKenzie took a speculative wrist shot from the left point that Mayer bobbled, and Walter arrived in the slot to slide the rebound past the Hamilton goaltender at 1:04.

The Bulldogs nearly tied the game a minute later, when defenceman Frederic St. Denis' fluttering wrist shot from the point caught Taylor unaware and hit the far post before bouncing to safety.

Instead, it was the Heat who scored to double their advantage at 6:29, as Walter registered his second point of the opening period.

Abbotsford found itself on the power play when Mayer was whistled for interference. Walter then threaded a pass to Reinhart on the blue-line, and his ensuing slapshot took a big deflection off the stick of Hamilton defender Jarred Tinordi and rocketed over the shoulder of the stunned Mayer.

Special teams let the Bulldogs down on that occasion, but it was Hamilton's own power-play unit that found them their opening goal late in the first.

With Zach McKelvie serving a roughing penalty, the Bulldogs established traffic in front of Taylor and Ellis fired a slapshot that beat the screened goaltender over the far shoulder at 14:25.

Hamilton's momentum proved short-lived, however, as Abbotsford re-established its two-goal lead through another bizarre bounce off the unfortunate Tinordi. Baertschi controlled the puck in the corner, and attempted a centring pass that clipped the skate of the Hamilton defenceman and bounced up and over the shoulder of Mayer at 18:38 of the first.

Walter was credited with an assist on the goal, registering his third point of the period.

Sent down by the Montreal Canadiens earlier Friday, Gabriel Dumont showed his quality to score Hamilton's second goal of the night at 11:22 of the second.

Dumont skated in from the left wing and fired a wrist shot that hit a player in front of goal, but followed up to shovel a second effort past Taylor.

But, just as they had in the first period, the Bulldogs followed a goal by taking a penalty and conceding a power-play goal.

After Greg Pateryn was called for hooking at 12:09, Baertschi took a wrist shot from the right wing that careened off the glass behind the Hamilton net and landed in front of Street, whose weak shot caught Mayer out of position to give the Heat a 4-2 lead at 13:08 of the second period.

Walter was proud of his team's ability to respond to Hamilton's goals.

"That's big for a team when you can answer back like that, especially on the road," said the centreman. "They were starting to get some momentum when they had those goals, and we were able to shut that down."

He credited his team's power play unit for its opportunism.

"We were loose out there," said Walter. "We weren't trying too hard or gripping our sticks too tight. We were just making the plays that were available and taking shots when we could.

"We did get a couple good bounces, so that always helps."

The Bulldogs gained a late consolation goal at 11:40 of the third, when Belzile tipped a pass toward Taylor's net that Abbotsford's McKelvie inexplicably swept past his own goaltender.

Dumont argued that his team made too many mistakes to warrant a win on this occasion.

"I think we gave up too many big scoring chances," said the Bulldog centre. "We had too many major breakdowns on defence. We would be playing really good and then all of a sudden we give up a 3-on-1 or a breakaway for the other team, a big collapse.

"Mayer was there for us tonight but we didn't really help him."

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Hamilton Health Sciences CEO tops 'sunshine list' of local 6-figure earners

The province released its annual so-called "sunshine list" showing Hamilton's top earners, and health care officials once again top the list of public-sector salaries.

Hamilton's health care bosses earn the highest incomes on the city's public sector salary disclosure list, which was released on Thursday. At the top was Murray Martin, CEO of Hamilton Health Sciences, who earned $647,126.08 in 2012, plus $36,543.63 in taxable benefits.

Martin leads a top-10 list that includes Kevin Smith, president and CEO of St. Joseph's Health System, who earned $645,126.08 plus $36,543.63 in taxable benefits in 2012. David Higgens, president of St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, earned $497,552.79 plus $9,562.20.

The public may balk at those large numbers, said Marvin Ryder, a McMaster University marketing and business strategy expert. But these people lead large corporations that represent billions in economic spinoffs in Hamilton.

"People say 'I'm only getting minimum wage,' but you're not running a hospital," said Ryder. "These are very sophisticated organizations."

Andrea Horwath listed several high health care CEO salaries Thursday during her call for a hard cap on public sector CEO salaries.

"When public sector CEOs are getting pay hikes that are bigger than most people's paycheques, something's not working," the provincial NDP leader and Hamilton Centre MPP said in a media release.

"Money that should be going to frontline health care or lowering tuition fees is being spent on CEO salaries, and that's not fair for families who are struggling."

Horwath cited examples such as the salary of Ontario Power Generation CEO Tom Mitchell. Mitchell earned $1.7 million in 2012. She also cited the CEO salaries for hospitals in London and Toronto.

"Until we have a hard cap on public salaries, Ontarians can expect to see the pay packets of public executives continue to grow at the expense of public services," said Horwath. "A single million-dollar salary is enough to keep over a dozen nurses on the job."

Hamilton Health Sciences puts a priority on both, said Louise Taylor Green, the corporation's executive vice-president of corporate affairs and strategy.

Martin oversees a corporation that has six hospitals and a cancer centre, Taylor Green said.

"We're the second largest in Ontario, we're the leading research hospital in the country, the seventh internationally, and the largest employer in Hamilton," she said. "Given the fact that our organization is serving a catchment of 3.2 million, we certainly feel the compensation package for our CEO is competitive and fair."

Here are Hamilton's top 10 earners on this year's Sunshine List:

• Murray Martin, CEO, Hamilton Health Sciences: $647,126.08, $36,543.63
• Kevin Smith, president and CEO, St. Joseph's Health System: $645,126.08, $76,227.41
• Mohamed Elbestani, vice-president research, McMaster University: $506,246.80
• David Higgens, president, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton: $497,552.79, $9,5622.20
• John Kelton, dean and vice-president health sciences, McMaster University: $455,504.40, $10,066.18
• Boleslow Lach, pathologist, Hamilton Health Sciences: $433,617.95, $1,062.48
• Bill Evans, president, Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre: $426,902.69, $24,762.87
• Christine Lee, medical microbiologist, Hamilton Health Sciences: $419,175.19, $1,111.44
• Vina Alexopoulou, anatomic pathologist, Hamilton Health Sciences: $412,000.39, $1,258.32
• Fiona Smail, medical microbiologist, Hamilton Health Sciences: $411,708.83, $1,160.40

At McMaster University, 1,015 employees earned six figures compared to 947 the year before. Mohamed Elbestawi, a professor and vice-president research, topped that list at $506,246.80 and $9,921.46 in taxable benefits.

John Kelton, dean and vice-president of health sciences, earned $455,504.40 and $10,066.18 in benefits. He was followed by Salim Yusuf, a heart and stroke researcher in the department of medicine, with $387,351.10 and $1,467.60 in benefits.

President Patrick Dean earned $387,287.20 and $23,199.76 in benefits.

At Mohawk College, 247 staff earned six figures last year compared to 226 the year before. Mohawk College president Rob MacIsaac topped that list with $275,515.20 plus $47,210.09 in taxable benefits. He earned the same salary the year before, but his taxable benefits were substantially lower - $4,881.25.

There were 734 city employees who made six figures in 2011. That increased to 818 in 2012.

Topping the list were Medical Officer of Health Elizabeth Richardson, city manager Chris Murray, police chief Glenn De Caire, associate medical officer of health Tran Ninh and police deputy chief Ken Leenderste.

Threshold unchanged

The sunshine list began in the mid-1990s, but the threshold has never changed. Ryder argues that it should.

Adjusted to the rate of inflation, he said, the original $100,000 threshold would be the equivalent about $167,000 today. And the list doesn't necessarily provide the transparency because it's only taxable benefits.

"That doesn't include allowances for cars or equipment," he said. "If the goal is transparency, does the sunshine list do it? I would say no.

"It really just satisfies our prurient interest in what our neighbours are making."

Search the list online

CBC.ca is publishing the entire sunshine list in an online format you can filter and search yourself. Click on the categories at the bottom of this page to search the lists.

Follow these three steps below to filter and isolate the information you're looking for.

You'll need to set the tables to Google's "Classic look," which you can do by clicking the "Help" tab and then clicking "Back to Classic look."

Some search tips

• You must click the "clear filter" button between searches.

• If you don't see the salary information after conducting a search, click on the small triangle on the right side of the page. This will make visible the columns you can't see.

Read and search the sunshine list, broken down into categories:

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Increasing number of Hamilton teachers making more than $100K

By Samantha Craggs, CBC News

Posted: Mar 29, 2013 9:32 AM ET

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2013 9:30 AM ET

 

An increasing number of Hamilton's high school teachers are making more than $100,000, according to this year's sunshine list.

The list, released annually, is an Ontario government disclosure of public-sector salaries. It provides the salary details for anyone on the provincial payroll earning $100,000 or more.

Thirty-four high school teachers in the public board and 54 in the Catholic board made six figures in 2012, according to the sunshine list released Thursday afternoon.

Many of the teachers are department heads, which means an additional $5,471 allowance for overseeing their departments, said Patrick Daly, chair of the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board. This is in addition to the maximum $94,622-per-year salary for a teacher at the top of the grid.

"In our board, our high schools are very large," Daly said. "In some departments, such as English and religion and math, you have a number of teachers."

Department head duties include managing the curriculum within those departments, overseeing programs and supporting principals, Daly said.

In the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, teachers making six figures likely do extra work teaching continuing education classes nights or over the summer, said associate director Ken Bain.

"The answer is really within the area of community and continuing education."

Last year's list shows 21 teachers making six figures in the public board in 2011. All but one are identified only as "teachers" without specifying high school or elementary.

There are no Catholic board teachers on last year's list.

In 2012, 260 employees of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board earned more than $100,000. In 2011, there were 224.

Director John Malloy topped the public board list at $231,980.74 plus $11,236.51 in benefits. Malloy was the only staff member to crack the $200,000 mark. In 2011, Malloy earned $220,980.80 and $10,816.58 in taxable benefits.

One hundred seventy-three employees of the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board earned six figures compared to 104 the year before.

Director Patricia Amos earned $214,000.96 and $3,346.11 in benefits, the highest in the board. That's up from $208,558.98 the year before.

Teacher salary grids are determined through negotiations between provincial unions and the province. The maximum salary is the same at every school board, Daly said.

The increasing number of staff on the sunshine list shows why the province should increase the minimum limit for the disclosure list, he said.

"I understand the need for transparency and the public's right to know, but I strongly suggest that the government increase the $100,000," he said.

"(The list) was clearly for the public to be aware of what peope on the high end were making. I don't think it was ever intended to list hundreds of thousands of names."

CBC.ca is publishing the entire sunshine list in an online format you can filter and search yourself. Click on the categories at the bottom of this page to search the lists.

Follow these three steps below to filter and isolate the information you're looking for.

You'll need to set the tables to Google's "Classic look," which you can do by clicking the "Help" tab and then clicking "Back to Classic look."

How-to graphic

Some search tips

• You must click the "clear filter" button between searches.

• If you don't see the salary information after conducting a search, click on the small triangle on the right side of the page. This will make visible the columns you can't see.

Read and search the sunshine list, broken down into categories:

22.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

How an ancient astronomical error affects Easter

How a misunderstanding of astronomy can make us wait up to a month to celebrate Easter.

By Kaleigh Rogers, CBC News

Posted: Mar 29, 2013 9:49 AM ET

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2013 9:54 AM ET

 

Easter weekend brings a lot of things to mind — religion, family, food, bunnies and Easter eggs, to name a few. The moon usually isn't on that list, but it actually has a big influence over the date on which the holiday weekend falls.

In fact, an ancient misunderstanding of astronomy can make us wait up to a month to celebrate Easter, depending on the year.

For hundreds of years, churches have looked to the sky to determine when they should celebrate Easter, trying to align it with the Vernal, or Spring, equinox. The holiday is a time of renewal and rebirth for the Christian church, so celebrating around the dawn of Spring made sense.

But way back when people were determining the rules for when the date would fall, humanity's understanding of the sky was a little lacking. Robert Cockcroft, a McMaster University astronomer and physicist, explains.

"Back in 325 A.D. these rules were made, but they couldn't accurately predict astronomical events because they didn't understand it all, so they set up estimations," Cockcroft said.

The church decided Easter would be celebrated on the first Sunday after a full moon that falls either on or after the Spring equinox.

The Spring equinox, Cockcroft explained, is the point in the year when the path of the sun moves along with the equator, meaning it's making its way back to the northern hemisphere and spring is on the way.

Unfortunately, when they were making the rules nearly 1,700 years ago, they didn't realize the date of the equinox changes slightly every year. It can occur on March 19, 20 or 21 (most often on the 20), but the church fixed the date for the equinox at March 21.

Church officials also followed an ecclesiastical calendar to determine when the full moon would fall — the 14th of a "lunar month" — which isn't always the case, either.

"Those understandings of the words 'full moon' and 'Vernal equinox' are not the astronomical definition of those terms, which is where the complication arises," Cockcroft said.

Out of sync

Most years the church's definitions are pretty much in harmony with the actual astronomical events taking place. This year, for example, the equinox occured at 11:02 a.m. on March 20 and the first full moon to follow occurred early Wednesday, so Sunday's date is accurate.

But some years, the discrepancies mean the two dates fall out of sync: six years from now, the church's Easter date falls almost a full month after the astronomical Easter date.

"I can imagine it would be confusing during the years when they don't agree," Cockcroft said.

And it gets even more complicated depending on where in the world you're celebrating Easter.

Western Christianity follows the Gregorian calendar — that's the civic calendar we follow — to determine the date. Eastern Christianity follows the Julian calendar, which is 13 days out of sync.

Therefore, Easter can fall on any Sunday between April 4 and May 8 for Eastern Christians; this year it's May 5.

Cockcroft explained it's not just churches that can get caught up in old traditions that don't mesh with new understandings; it happens all the time in science.

"This is how science works as well. We look for a pattern and categorize it, then realize later on those categories are incorrect, but we're kind of stuck with them," he said, pointing to the categorization of stars as an example.

"Rather than label stars hottest to coolest from A to Z, we label the hottest O, followed by B, then A, F. It doesn't make any sense, but it's because it's arranged differently than when we first made the rules."

On the bright side, Easter may change from year to year and hemisphere to hemisphere, but at least the cream eggs stay the same.

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Mother's Pizza comes back to Hamilton

By Lisa Polewski, CBC News

Posted: Mar 29, 2013 9:18 AM ET

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2013 10:08 AM ET

 

Old is new again as Mother's Pizza prepares to re-open its doors in Hamilton.

Co-owners Geeve Sandhu and Brian Alger aren't fooling around with the restaurant venture, even though they chose April Fool's Day to re-introduce Hamilton's own Mother's Pizza to the local restaurant scene. On April 1, the 701 Queenston Road location will be opening to the public, bringing back the Mother's brand that hasn't been seen in the city since the early 1990s.

Sandhu, who has been in the restaurant business his whole life and owns several pubs around Hamilton and Burlington, said he's excited to bring Mother's back to Hamilton where it all began.

"This whole area is kind of being revitalized," said Sandhu of the Queenston Road location. "It's become a restaurant hub right now."

Alger, who bought the Mother's trademark in 2008 and teamed up with Sandhu in 2010, said he grew up with Mother's and wanted to bring it back into the marketplace.

'The nice thing is that Mother's started here in Hamilton. So a lot of the old franchisees … they're all still around, and they're all eager to come in and help, so we've got a bit of a secret weapon.'—Brian Alger, co-owner Mother's Pizza

"The nice thing is that Mother's started here in Hamilton," said Alger. "So a lot of the old franchisees … they're all still around, and they're all eager to come in and help, so we've got a bit of a secret weapon."

Alger said they are keeping some of the classic design elements of the restaurant, but they also updated the décor to give the environment a more contemporary feel.

"We recognized early on that, from a brand standpoint, it's nice to have that old nostalgic brand," said Alger. "But you also want to make it relevant and you want new guests to be able to come in here and feel welcome as well."

Sandhu said one of the big reasons for bringing Mother's back was to fill the need for family-friendly restaurants with good value.

"I have two kids, and sometimes we struggle in terms of where we're going to eat," said Sandhu. "I think that family segment is missing right now, and I think we're going to slot nicely right into it. We're going to offer a real kid-friendly environment, a real family-friendly environment."

The interior will have elements of the classic restaurant chain, as well as added contemporary touches. (Lisa Polewski/CBC)

Steve Tate, currently working in advertising in Toronto, worked at a Mother's Pizza location in Brampton about 30 years ago. Tate said he had a lot of fun working there as a chef when he was 17, and he hopes the new location will stay true to its legacy of good pizza.

"It was a lot of fun," said Tate. "I guess it's easy to say that with jobs when you're a kid, because really they're not that hard, but it was fun. I met a lot of people there that I was friends with for a lot of years."

One thing Tate said he hopes has changed is the uniform, which he remembers as being "horrible."

"Personally, I wanted to go back to the old uniforms," laughed Alger. "But we recognize the fact that we need people to work here, and we want people to take pride in where they are too."

The new uniforms will pay homage to the old ones, but Alger said they will be more in line with today's fashions.

Alger and Sandhu said they are working from the original pizza dough and sauce recipes, and although they have updated the menu to include some more items - including vegetarian options - they said the value will be just as good as it ever was.

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Good Friday marked with prayers, chants and re-enactments

Christians believe Jesus Christ was crucified on Good Friday, resurrected Easter Sunday

The Associated Press

Posted: Mar 29, 2013 8:41 AM ET

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2013 10:14 AM ET

 

Hundreds of Christians streamed through the cobblestone alleyways of Jerusalem's Old City on Friday, hoisting wooden crosses and chanting prayers to mark the crucifixion of Jesus.

Throngs of pilgrims walked a traditional Good Friday procession that retraces Jesus' steps along the Via Dolorosa, Latin for the "Way of Suffering." They followed his 14 stations, saying a prayer at each and ending at the ancient Holy Sepulcher church.

Along the route, Franciscan friars in brown robes chanted prayers in Latin and explained the different stations to crowds through a megaphone. One man dressed as Jesus wearing a crown of thorns was flanked by men posing as Roman soldiers and had fake blood dripping down his chest as he lugged a giant cross down the street.

Christian Catholic pilgrim lights a candle inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, traditionally believed to be the site of the crucifixion of Christ, in Jerusalem's Old City. (Bernat Armangue/Associated Press)

"The most perfect love that was ever seen in the world was when Jesus died for us. He showed us the perfection of love," said Mary.

Good Friday events kicked off with a morning service at the cavernous Holy Sepulcher, which was built on the place where tradition holds Jesus was crucified, briefly entombed and resurrected. Clergy dressed in colorful robes entered through the church's large wooden doors as worshippers prayed in the church courtyard.

Later Friday, a service was due in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, built atop the traditional site of Jesus' birth. Christians believe Jesus was crucified on Good Friday and resurrected on Easter Sunday.

Roman Catholic and Protestant congregations that observe the new, Gregorian calendar, mark Easter this week. Orthodox Christians, who follow the old, Julian calendar, will mark Good Friday in May.

Less than two per cent of the population of Israel and the Palestinian territories is Christian, mostly split between Catholicism and Orthodox streams of Christianity. Christians in the West Bank wanting to attend services in Jerusalem must obtain permission from Israeli authorities.

Israel's Tourism Ministry said it expects some 150,000 visitors in Israel during Easter week and the Jewish festival of Passover, which coincide this year.

Filipino devotees re-enact crucifixion

Devotees in villages in the northern Philippines took part in a bloody annual ritual to mark Good Friday, a celebration that mixes Roman Catholic devotion and Filipino folk beliefs and sees some re-enact the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

The crucified devotees spent several minutes nailed to crosses in Pampanga province while thousands of tourists watched and took photos, which the church discourages. Earlier in the day, hooded male penitents trudged through the province's villages under the blazing sun while flagellating their bleeding backs with makeshift whips. Others carried wooden crosses to dramatize Christ's sacrifice.

Devotees undergo the hardships in the belief that such extreme sacrifices are a way to atone for their sins, attain miracle cures for illnesses or give thanks to God.

Ruben Enaje (centre), 52, was one of several devotees in northern Philippines to re-enact the crucifixion of Jesus Christ by being nailed to a cross. (Romeo Ranoco/Reuters)

Alex Laranang, a 58-year-old vendor who was the first to be nailed to a cross Friday, said he was doing it "for good luck and for my family to be healthy."

It was the 27th crucifixion for sign painter Ruben Enaje, 52, one of the most popular penitents from San Pedro Cutud village. He began his yearly rite after surviving a fall from a building.

Enaje screamed in pain as men dressed as Roman soldiers hammered stainless steel nails into his palms and feet. A wireless microphone carried his voice to loudspeakers for everyone watching to hear.

His cross was raised and he was hanged there for several minutes under the searing afternoon sun before the nails were pulled out and he was taken on a stretcher to a first aid station.

"It's intriguing and fascinating what makes people do something like this, how you can believe so much that you make yourself suffer to that extent," said Dita Tittesass, a tourist from Denmark.

Remigio de la Cruz, the chief of San Pedro Cutud village, explained that the practice began in his village in the 1950s.

Archbishop Jose Palma, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, told the church-run Radio Veritas that the practice is "not the desire of Jesus Christ."

"We are aware that this has been practiced long before ... but we still hope that this will not be done any more," he said. "We should all concentrate on prayers."

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Sudbury joins Hamilton in downtown casino debate

Sudbury economist questions whether a casino would actually boost the local economy in that city

By Megan Thomas, CBC News

Posted: Mar 28, 2013 7:12 AM ET

Last Updated: Mar 27, 2013 6:54 AM ET

 

As debate continues in Hamilton over a downtown casino, a similar proposal in another Ontario city is also raising questions.

Much like Hamilton, the northern Ontario city of Sudbury already has slot machines at a racetrack on the outskirts of the city, but it's considering allowing a full-fledged casino in the downtown core – if it includes extras like a hotel or arena.

Many Ontario cities are weighing their options after Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation announced plans to search for private operators to open and operate casinos, with the hope of increasing gambling revenue in the province.

But a Sudbury economist questions what cities have to gain from adding downtown casinos.

Laurentian University economics professor David Robinson said a casino would funnel money to the province more than it would bring dollars to Sudbury, unless a casino attracts tourists – something he questions under the OLG expansion plan.

"Once you put them in every major city they're no longer a tourist attraction," Robinson said.

"It's exactly like the trick of lowering your taxes to attract new businesses. If you do it, you get new businesses. If everybody does it, everybody's poorer."

Sudbury's mayor maintains a new casino complex in the downtown would benefit the city through the amenities that would come with it.

Debate continues in Hamilton

Drawing tourists would be critical for a new casino in Hamilton to be successful, said Hannah Holmes, an economist at McMaster University.

'The honest answer is it's all going to depend.'—Hannah Holmes, McMaster economics professor

"You need to have an inflow of tourist money. You don't want residents who are spending their money locally anyway just redirecting their spending," she said.

That could be a challenge for Hamilton, with an established casino just down the highway in Niagara Falls, Holmes said. Plus, the impact is difficult to predict with so many proposals elsewhere in the province under consideration.

"The honest answer is it's all going to depend. There are just so many external factors that could come into play," Holmes said.

"I don't think anybody can really put a concrete estimate on the impact of a casino."

There has not been any formal research done regarding the effects of a casino on tourism at this point in the process, said Norm Schleehahn, Manager of Business Development for the City of Hamilton.

Downtown casino still an option

Hamilton city councillors have left the possibility of a downtown casino open. They passed a motion stating that they are only willing to consider a casino at the Flamboro Downs location, unless the race track is found to be "not a viable site."

Holmes said locating a casino at Flamboro Downs is more attractive economically because it could also help support jobs in the horse racing industry.

While Hamilton grapples with where to put a new casino, Toronto is still considering whether it wants one.

MGM Resorts International has unveiled a proposal for a massive casino complex in downtown Toronto, featuring a 1,200-room hotel and a shopping mall, at a cost of up to $4 billion. It's one of several possibilities in the Greater Toronto Area.

Toronto city council is expected to make a decision this spring about whether it wants a casino.

Meanwhile, the communities of Kitchener and Waterloo voted this week to hold public consultations into attracting a casino to their respective cities.

Barrie already out

One Ontario city has already said no to expanding gambling. City council in Barrie has turned down the idea of a downtown casino.

Barrie already has slot machines at the nearby Georgian Downs racetrack.

After six weeks of public consultation, Barrie councilors decided a downtown casino presented too many concerns about social problems, and could endanger existing jobs at Georgian Downs.

OLG has identified 29 gaming zones in the province where new or existing facilities may be permitted. They require municipal approval and private operators who are interested in developing the projects.

With files from Kaleigh Rogers, CBC Sudbury

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Former CFL assistant coach Ron Lancaster Jr. dies

CBC News

Posted: Mar 27, 2013 1:30 PM ET

Last Updated: Mar 27, 2013 4:29 PM ET

 

Former Canadian Football League assistant coach Ron Lancaster Jr. has died, his brother-in-law has confirmed.

"He passed away in his sleep last night," Larry Mueller, who is married to Ron's sister Lana, told CBC Hamilton on Wednesday afternoon. "Sometimes you just wear out."

Born in 1963, Lancaster, son of legendary CFL quarterback, coach and executive Ron Lancaster Sr., worked as an assistant coach for the CFL clubs in Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Hamilton.

He served as head coach for the University of Manitoba Bisons in the mid-1990s.

He made five Grey Cup appearances, winning three, including in 1999 with Hamilton when his father was the club's head coach.

Lancaster was found dead in his Hamilton apartment, according to an official with the Tiger Cats.

Mueller, who coaches the University of Regina's varsity football team, said his brother-in-law had recently been coaching high school football.

"A good young guy, a good family guy, a hard-working guy," Mueller added. "He just went too early. And he'll be missed."

Tributes to Lancaster began pouring out on Wednesday afternoon.

"The entire Tiger-Cats organization would like to express our sincere condolences to the Lancaster family," the team's president Scott Mitchell said in a press release.

Officials with the Edmonton Eskimos and Winnipeg Blue Bombers also made statements commemorating the longtime football coach.

The elder Lancaster won two Grey Cups as a quarterback with Ottawa (1960) and Saskatchewan (1966), before claiming two CFL titles as a head coach with Edmonton (1993) and Hamilton (1999).

The league's outstanding player in 1970, he was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1982 and died Sept. 18, 2008, at the age of 69.

[View the story "Longtime football coach Ron Lancaster Jr. dies" on Storify]

With files from The Canadian Press

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Mayer makes 42 saves for Hamilton in win over Abbotsford

The Canadian Press

Posted: Mar 28, 2013 8:56 AM ET

Last Updated: Mar 28, 2013 8:55 AM ET

 

After two periods on Wednesday, the Hamilton Bulldogs looked set to coast to victory with a comfortable 4-0 lead.

But when their cushion disappeared in the third, the Bulldogs turned to goaltender Robert Mayer and a desperate defensive effort to salvage a win.

Mayer made 42 saves as the Bulldogs held off the Abbotsford Heat 5-3 in American Hockey League play.

"It was a game where we wanted to come out strong," said Hamilton forward Joey Tenute. "We knew that we had been slow to start at home in our last few games here, and we talked all week about having a good start.

"Tonight, we had that, and then we seemed to fall asleep a little bit at times in the second and third."

Tenute had two goals, while Michael Bournival, Frederic St. Denis and Greg Pateryn also scored for Hamilton (26-32-6).

Max Reinhart, Roman Horak and Ben Street had goals for Abbotsford (30-29-9), and Barry Brust stopped 10-of-12 shots in relief of starter Danny Taylor.

A strong power play carried momentum into even-strength play as Bournival opened the scoring for the Bulldogs at 10:41 of the first. The centre collected the puck from defenceman Nathan Beaulieu and circled into the high slot before firing a wristshot that deflected off the far post and past Taylor.

With their first goal behind them, the Bulldogs wasted no time in finding another.

They doubled their advantage at 13:17 of the first when Philippe Lefebvre's point shot hit a Heat player in front of the net and spilled to St. Denis on the left wing. The defender routinely slotted the puck past Taylor, who had yet to spot it through a screen.

Alex Belzile attributed Hamilton's success in the opening period to its simplistic and efficient approach on offence.

"We were opportunistic and we had the little details down," said Belzile. "We took shots and didn't do anything complicated, and it worked.

"I hope that we'll do the same thing in the future."

Brady Vail — Montreal's fourth-round selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft (94th overall) — registered an assist on the play for his first professional point.

Tenute capped the Bulldogs' impressive first period with the team's third goal at 18:39. He corralled a cross-ice pass from Belzile and carried the puck over the left circle, releasing a heavy wrist shot that eluded Taylor's blocking glove and deflected in off the crossbar.

Taylor was replaced by Brust after allowing three goals on only 10 shots in the first.

Pateryn extended the Bulldogs' lead to four with a power-play goal at 6:14 in the second. Hamilton cycled the puck effectively with the man advantage, and after Patrick Holland threaded a cross-ice pass to him on the left point Pateryn took a well-placed slapshot that beat Brust on the short side.

Despite being badly outplayed through the first two periods, the Heat entered the third in much better form.

Abbotsford scored twice in quick succession to bring the result into doubt, as Horak followed Reinhart's goal at 1:56 with one of his own four minutes later.

Ben Walter's weak shot among a crowd was stopped by Mayer, but the rebound fell to Horak and he fired it in to cut Hamilton's lead to 4-2 at 6:01 of the third.

With his team looking sluggish and its lead quickly evaporating, the Bulldogs' head coach Sylvain Lefebvre called a timeout that seemed to awaken his players.

The Bulldogs explained that Lefebvre stressed defensive responsibility as he looked to rally his team.

"He told us to keep things simple just like we did when we started the game," said Belzile. "We don't need highlight-reel goals to make it 5-2. That's not the way to play.

"We had to be defensively strong and win those 50-50 battles, and pay attention to those little details."

Hamilton responded to the break with its fifth goal of the game, as Tenute scored his second at 8:36. Holland carried the puck down the left wing and cut to the net, forcing a save from Brust before the rebound spilled to Tenute, who shot the puck in from close range.

Tenute credited the swing in momentum to a change of pace.

"We had the lead and we knew that we are all capable players out there," said the Bulldog forward. "We're all responsible. We just had to have some confidence and slow the game down.

"We had to play at our pace and dictate play."

Abbotsford cut its deficit to two goals yet again when Street scored at 15:13, but would get no closer.

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Hamilton to host tall ships, battle re-enactments as part of War of 1812 bicentennial

CBC News

Posted: Mar 28, 2013 9:04 AM ET

Last Updated: Mar 28, 2013 9:02 AM ET

 

Tall ships. Military bands. Battle re-enactments.

All of these attractions and more will be on display in Hamilton this summer as part of the continuing observances surrounding the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812.

A signature event on this year's program will be the bicentennial re-enactment of the Battle of Stoney Creek on June 1 and 2. Over 600 participants are expected in the mock skirmish, which will recall one of the key turning points in the British-American conflict.

In the early hours of June 6, 1813, British forces launched a surprise assault on American troops who had set up camp in what's now Stoney Creek. During the 40-minute clash, the British captured two opposing generals and forced the Americans to retreat. U.S. forces never advanced that far into the Niagara Peninsula again.

Sightseers will have the opportunity to board multi-mast sail ships, the kind that might have sailed the Great Lakes during the War of 1812. At least five such vessels, including one whose home port is in Norway, will be stationed at Pier 8 on the weekend of June 28.

Mayor Bob Bratina expressed his excitement for the summer's activities at a media launch at Battlefield House Museum in Stoney Creek on Wednesday.

"For some reason, I've grown up believing that Hamilton has a unique destiny," he told CBC Hamilton. "The sweep of history that's gone through here, including the formation of a new country following the defeat of the Americans following the war — and the fact that these events that took place in my own backyard - it always captivated me even as a youngster."

For a full schedule of Hamilton's War of 1812 anniversary events, go to 1812Hamilton.com.

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