Weekly News Recap: March 21, 2025

Weekly News Recap: March 21, 2025

From left to right: François Bertrand, Director of Research and Innovation; Maud Cohen, Executive Director; Pierre Lassonde, Chair of the Board of Directors; Valérie Bélisle, Director of Philanthropy and Alumni Relations; Oussama Moutanabbir, Full Professor in the Department of Engineering Physics. Image by Thierry du Bois.

As for the future, your task is not to foresee it, but to enable it. -- Antoine de Saint Exupery

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • 17 delightful Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards outtakes (Popular Science) #SoFun "Our animal friends can be quite amusing."

  • VIDEO: Meet Caprice, the hawk who works for the City of Burnaby (CBC) BURNABY STORY "She's majestic, alert, and sleek. She's Caprice the Hawk and has a very important job at the City of Burnaby. Caprice — who is a Harris's hawk — guards the Burnaby eco-centre, where recycling and compost are periodically dropped off throughout the week."

  • Brewing tea removes lead from water (Northwestern) Another good reason to drink tea. "Process passively removes significant amount of toxic heavy metals from drinking water."

  • VIDEO: Lunar Lander Captures First High-Definition Video of a Sunset on the Moon (Gizmodo) #WeLiveInAWonderousUniverse "The Blue Ghost lander bid farewell to the Moon by gently going into that cold lunar night. Before ending its mission on the lunar surface, Blue Ghost watched a beautiful sunset, capturing the glow of the Sun’s light slowly fading over the Moon’s horizon."

  • VIDEO: California Woman is Reunited with Beloved Cat 2 Months after Wildfire Destroyed Home [VERTICAL] (Yahoo News) #FurBaby "It appears the tall tale that all cats have nine lives may be true for a California Maine coon named Aggie. The beloved feline was feared dead for two months after the Palisades wildfire in Los Angeles left her family's home in ashes. But her owner, 82-year-old Katherine Kiefer, held out some hope. Over the weekend, Kiefer got a call from the West Los Angeles Animal Shelter. Her daughter Carolyn Kiefer shared their reunion Saturday in a TikTok video that quickly garnered more than 1 million likes. It shows tears pouring from Katherine Kiefer's eyes as Aggie curled up in her arms."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. Energy sector CEOs call on Ottawa to use emergency powers to speed up key projects (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "A group of energy sector chief executives is calling on the leaders of four federal political parties to declare a Canadian energy crisis and use emergency powers to help speed the development of key projects in the 'national interest.' In an open letter to the political leaders [...] the CEOs of 10 of the largest oil and natural gas companies and the four largest pipeline companies outlined their plan to strengthen Canadian economic sovereignty."

  2. VIDEO: Astronauts Butch and Suni finally back on Earth (BBC) Welcome home! "After nine months in space, Nasa astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have finally arrived back on Earth. Their SpaceX capsule made a fast and fiery re-entry through the Earth's atmosphere, before four parachutes opened to take them to a gentle splashdown off the coast of Florida. A pod of dolphins circled the craft."

  3. Prairie canola producers brace for 'devastating' 100 per cent tariffs from China (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "Canola farmers are bracing for impact as China looks to impose hefty tariffs on their industry in response to Canadian tariffs on the country's electric vehicle exports. Just mere weeks away from when farmers plant their first seeds, China is to enact a 100 per cent levy on Canadian canola oil and meal, plus a 25 per cent duty on seafood and pork."

  4. Okanagan College faces $8.3M deficit as international enrolment falls (Castanet) KELOWNA STORY "Okanagan College could run a deficit of $8.3 million over the next fiscal year due to federal policy changes that's reduced international student enrolment."

  5. VIDEO: 'It's not science fiction': The moonshot effort to supersize solar and wind (CBC) "Soaring demand for electricity is leading some companies to not only think out of the box for a solution, but out of this world, too. Researchers are looking to supersize the production of wind and solar power."

  6. VIDEO: Rare collection of letters from Louis Riel on display at Bow Valley College (YouTube) CALGARY STORY "A rare collection of Louis Riel’s hand written personal letters on display at Calgary’s Bow Valley [College]."

  7. VIDEO: B.C.'s Kwantlen Polytechnic University lays off 70 faculty members (CBC) SURREY STORY "Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) says it will be issuing full or partial layoff notices to approximately 70 faculty members amid a reduction in revenue from international admissions. KPU said Monday that the layoff notices would go out at the end of the week. The layoffs come as Canadian colleges and universities continue to grapple with the federal government issuing fewer international student permits."

  8. Greenpeace must pay over $660M in case over Dakota Access protest activities, jury finds (AP News) "Environmental group Greenpeace must pay more than $660 million in damages for defamation and other claims brought by a pipeline company in connection with protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline’s construction in North Dakota [...] Dallas-based Energy Transfer and subsidiary Dakota Access had accused Netherlands-based Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA and funding arm Greenpeace Fund Inc. of defamation, trespass, nuisance, civil conspiracy and other acts. Greenpeace USA was found liable for all counts, while the others were found liable for some."

  9. Finland is again ranked the happiest country in the world. The US falls to its lowest-ever position (AP News) "Finland is named the happiest country in the world for the eighth year in a row, according to the World Happiness Report 2025 [...] Other Nordic countries are also once again at the top of the happiness rankings in the annual report published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford."

  10. America, the brand, is becoming toxic (Fast Company) "Between boycotts, protests, and general animosity, the U.S. might be more unpopular internationally now than any time since the days of the Iraq War. Welcome to Pariahmerica."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. 9 Little-Known Google Calendar Tips That Can Help You Dominate Your Daily Productivity (Better Humans) My calendar is like another co-worker for me.

  2. How to Raise a Champion — Chill Out (Steve Magness) Fantastic article on how to raise children in sports.

  3. Why Your Sales Funnel Isn’t Converting — And What You’re Missing (The Startup) Good reminders.

  4. When You Can Tell Someone Isn’t Listening to You (Harvard Business Review) Some great coping tricks (I mean, besides walking away in disgust).

  5. What Works on LinkedIn In 2025 (The Startup) Updated info. Good stuff.

  6. How 60 Minutes a Day Can Change Your Life (Alphtitude) Invest in yourself.

  7. What Should You Wear With A Denim Jacket? (Esquire) #CanadianTuxedo

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. $50 million major gift to Polytechnique Montréal to foster the capacity to explore the unknown (Yahoo Finance) MONTREAL STORY #Boom "With enormous gratitude, Polytechnique Montréal announces [...] a historic donation of $50 million that marks a turning point in the development of scientific research and innovation in Québec. This gift from the Pierre Lassonde Family Foundation will enable the creation of an institute dedicated to disruptive innovation, a world-class research and development hub with the dual mission of developing breakthrough technological innovations for society and educating talented people for the high-tech sector."

  2. CHOP receives $125M donation to create new children’s health building (PHL17) "The new building is made possible by a $125 million gift from Aileen and Brian Roberts and their family—'the largest single donation the hospital has received in its 170-year history.' "

  3. Fairfield University receives $50 million donation, its largest single gift ever (CT Post) "A Fairfield University alumnus and trustee has donated $50 million to the private Jesuit university, marking the largest single donation by an individual in Fairfield's history [...]The $50 million gift from John Charles Meditz, a 1970 Fairfield graduate and co-founder of an independent investment company, brings his total lifetime giving to the university to over $75 million, according to a university news release."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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