Canada and the world in past year

A month-by-month breakdown of the major events that affected us all in 2004

JANUARY

5 - U.S. defeats Canada 4-3 in gold medal game at world junior hockey championships.

17 - Hollinger International Inc. fires Conrad Black as chairman and files $200-million U.S. lawsuit against him and right-hand man David Radler.

18 - Truck bomb explodes outside U.S. headquarters in Baghdad, killing at least 31.

24 - NASA rover Opportunity lands on Mars three weeks after landing of twin rover, Spirit.

27 - Cpl. Jamie Brendan Murphy, 26, of Newfoundland is killed in suicide bomb attack on jeep in Kabul.

28 - Judge exonerates British government, condemns BBC over report on "sexed-up" dossier on Iraqi weapons.

29 - Stelco Inc. secures court-ordered bankruptcy protection from its creditors.

FEBRUARY

1 - More than 250 Muslims die in stampede during hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. Suicide bombers kill 109 people at Kurdish political offices in Irbil, Iraq.

5 - Haitian militants seize city of Gonaives in revolt against government of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

10 - Auditor General Sheila Fraser reports massive abuses in federal sponsorship program run by Public Works Department; Prime Minister Paul Martin orders independent judicial inquiry into the scandal. France's National Assembly votes to banish religious emblems such as Muslim headscarves, Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses from state schools.

13 - Conrad Black launches $850-million defamation suit against members of Hollinger International board, claiming he has been made a "loathsome laughingstock" by media coverage of accusations against him. San Francisco becomes first U.S. jurisdiction to issue marriage licences to gay couples.

18 - Train carrying chemicals derails and explodes in northeastern Iran, killing 320 people. Pakistan and India agree on road map for talks aimed at ending decades-old enmity.

19 - Nova Scotia and P.E.I. declare state of emergency because of blizzard. Outbreak of avian flu discovered in poultry farm in B.C. Fraser Valley.

20 - Hard-line clerics win majority in Iran's parliamentary elections which were boycotted by reformers.

24 - Three heads of Crown corporations - Andre Ouellet of Canada Post, Marc LeFrancois of Via Rail and Michel Vennat of Business Development Bank of Canada - are suspended over sponsorship scandal. More than 500 people are dead after earthquake flattens villages in northern Morocco.

29 - Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King wins 11 Oscars; Canada's The Barbarian Invasions, directed by Denys Arcand, wins best foreign-language film. Haitian President Jean Bertrand-Aristide flies into exile in the face of rebellion led by former police and army officers.

MARCH

1 - Via Rail chairman Jean Pelletier is fired after calling Olympic gold medallist Myriam Bedard a "pitiful" single mother. U.S. and French troops move into Port-au-Prince to restore order after departure of Haiti's president.

2 - Suicide bombings kill at least 143 Iraqis at shrines in Baghdad and Karbala.

5 - Martha Stewart is convicted of obstruction and conspiracy in stock-trading trial.

6 - Former deputy prime minister Sheila Copps loses Liberal nomination battle to Tony Valeri in Hamilton riding.

7 - Perdita Felicien of Pickering, Ont., wins women's 60-metre hurdles at the world indoor track and field championships.

11 - Railway bombings by terrorists in Madrid kill 191, injure more than 1,800. NHL suspends Vancouver Canucks' Todd Bertuzzi for attack on Steve Moore of Colorado Avalanche.

14 - Vladimir Putin re-elected in Russia's presidential election.

17 - Bombardier Inc. says it will cut 6,600 jobs in restructuring of its rail division.

19 - Quebec becomes the third province to allow same-sex marriages after Ontario and British Columbia.

20 - Stephen Harper is elected the first leader of the new Conservative party.

22 - Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin is killed by Israeli missiles in Gaza City. PM Paul Martin announces $1-billion bailout for farmers hit by mad-cow disease.

29 - Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Slovakia join NATO.

31 - Federal Court rules that swapping songs on the Internet for personal use does not break the law.

APRIL

4 - Nelly Furtado's "Powerless" wins best single at Juno Awards; Sam Roberts' We Were Born in a Flame wins best album.

5 - Federal government orders slaughter of 19 million chickens and turkeys in B.C. Fraser Valley to wipe out avian flu.

6 - Canada defeats U.S. in gold medal game at women's world hockey championships.

11 - Week of fighting between U.S. forces and militants in Fallujah leaves more than 600 Iraqi civilians and 59 U.S. soldiers dead, say reports.

14 - African National Congress led by President Thabo Mbeki wins South African general election.

15 - NDP MP Svend Robinson admits he pocketed jewelry at a public sale, announces he is taking leave from politics.

17 - Israel assassinates Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi. Dalai Lama, exiled leader of Tibet, arrives in Vancouver for a 19-day visit to Canada.

18 - Spain's new prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, orders 1,300 Spanish troops pulled out of Iraq.

19 - United States lifts ban on Canadian beef products.

20 - Ontario Superior Court judge delivers report on SARS epidemic, saying Ontario's public health system was woefully inadequate.

24 - Halifax's Colleen Jones and her rink win women's world curling championship.

26 - Newfoundland government introduces back-to-work legislation to end 27-day strike by public sector workers.

27 - Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, in Brussels on his first trip to Europe in 15 years, urges countries to follow his lead in abandoning weapons of mass destruction.

28 - Telecom giant Nortel Networks fires chief executive Frank Dunn and two other senior executives after internal investigation found problems with its financial reports.

30 - PM Martin meets with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington to discuss trade, border co-operation, national security.

MAY

1 - Former Communist countries Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania join European Union. At 24th annual Genie Awards, The Barbarian Invasions wins best film, Remy Girard best actor, Sarah Polley best actress.

2 - B.C. government and Hospital Employees' Union reach agreement to end illegal walkout.

5 - Picasso's 1905 painting "Boy With a Pipe" sells for $104 million U.S. at Sotheby's New York, breaking the record for an auctioned painting.

6 - President Bush apologizes for abuse of Iraqi PoWs by American soldiers.

9 - Team Canada beats Sweden to win men's world hockey championship. Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov is killed in bomb explosion in Grozny.
10 - Retired bureaucrat Chuck Guite, ad executive Jean Brault charged with defrauding federal government of almost $2 million in federal sponsorship scandal.

11 - Beheading of U.S. hostage Nicholas Berg is shown in video posted on website linked to al-Qaida.

13 - Former prime minister Joe Clark spends last day in House of Commons.

17_ Massachusetts becomes first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage.

20 - Air Canada reaches agreement with Canadian Auto Workers, clearing the way for company to emerge from bankruptcy protection.

26 - Labrador Inuit ratify land claim agreement allowing self-government in area the size of New Brunswick.

31 - Montreal Archbishop Andrew Hutchison is elected national leader of Anglican Church of Canada.

JUNE

1 - Former B.C. judge David Ramsay is sentenced to seven years in jail for sex crimes against underage aboriginal prostitutes. U.S. unveils new interim Iraqi government.

4 - Toll of dead and missing from two weeks of floods in Haiti and Dominican Republic reaches more than 3,300.

6 - Veterans and political figures attend ceremonies marking 60th anniversary of D-Day invasion in northern France.

7 - Tampa Bay Lightning wins Stanley Cup, defeating Calgary Flames in Game 7.

8 - UN Security Council votes to end occupation of Iraq on June 30 and authorizes U.S.-led force to remain after that to keep the peace. Venus makes first transit across sun in more than 100 years.

17 - Michael Briere, 36-year-old software developer, is sentenced to life for murder of Holly Jones, 10, of Toronto.

18 - European Union leaders agree on first constitution.

21 - SpaceShipOne becomes first private, manned craft to reach space.
25 - Canadian Beckie Scott is awarded gold medal for 2002 Olympic cross-country event after two Russians are stripped of medals for doping violations.

28 - Paul Martin's Liberals win minority in federal election. U.S.-led coalition transfers sovereignty to interim Iraqi government.

29 - Alberta alderwoman Dar Heatherington is convicted of public mischief for misleading police with story of being stalked. UN court sentences Serbian leader Milan Babic to 13 years in prison for role in ethnic cleansing against Croats in 1991.

30 - U.S. gives legal custody of Saddam Hussein to Iraqi government.

JULY

1 - In his first court appearance, former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein is charged with crimes against humanity.

6 - U.S. fighter pilot Harry Schmidt is found guilty of dereliction of duty for mistakenly bombing Canadian troops in Afghanistan, killing four. Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry picks John Edwards as running mate.

9 - International Court of Justice rules that Israel's West Bank security wall violates international law. U.S. Senate report says CIA provided false information about Iraqi weapons that the Bush administration used to justify invasion of Iraq.

11 - Rain and hailstorm in Edmonton causes tens of millions of dollars in property damage, shuts down West Edmonton Mall.

12 - Quebec crime tabloid Allo Police ceases publication after half a century due to poor circulation.

13 - CRTC cancels licence of Quebec City radio station CHOI-FM for repeatedly broadcasting offensive comments. Canada recalls ambassador to Iran after Canadians are barred from observing trial of man charged in death of Montreal photojournalist Zahra Kazemi.

15 - Yukon becomes fourth jurisdiction in Canada to allow gay and lesbian marriages. Emergency is declared in Peterborough, Ont., because of widespread flooding.

16 - Atlanta Thrashers star Dany Heatley is indicted on vehicular homicide in 2003 wreck that killed his teammate Dan Snyder.

18 - Judge declares mistrial in second trial of Kelly Ellard, accused of killing 14-year-old Reena Virk in 1997, after jury says it is deadlocked.

22 - Student from Shanghai is charged with murder of Cecilia Zhang, nine-year-old girl who vanished from her Toronto home. Molson Inc. and Denver-based Adolph Coors Co. announce plans to merge.

23 - Federal government announces it will pay $3.2-billion for Sikorsky S-92 helicopters to replace military's fleet of Sea Kings.

24 - Iranian court clears secret agent Mohammad Reza Aghdam Ahmadi of killing Montreal photojournalist Zahra Kazemi due to "lack of sufficient evidence."

28 - Massive car bomb kills at least 68 people outside police station in Baqouba, north of Baghdad.

29 - John Kerry accepts Democratic party nomination as U.S. presidential candidate.

30 - Premiers propose national, Ottawa-supported drug plan.

AUGUST

3 - The Statue of Liberty in New York, closed since Sept. 11, 2001, reopens with new security measures.

6 - Former NDP MP Svend Robinson pleads guilty to stealing a ring, is given a conditional discharge and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service.

9 - Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols is sentenced to life without possibility of parole.

12 - Andre Ouellet resigns as president of Canada Post after audit reports said he did not properly account for expenses.

13 - Olympic Games open in Athens. Hurricane Charley hits Florida Gulf Coast, killing 16.

18 - Saskatchewan reports its first human cases of West Nile virus, but the numbers are much lower than they were the year before.

19 - Nortel Networks announces 3,500 more staff cuts.

24 - Two Russian airliners crash almost simultaneously after taking off from Moscow, killing 90; Islamic group claims responsibility.

25 - CRTC postpones closing Quebec City radio station CHOI-FM until spring 2005. Bank of Canada unveils new $20 bill with anti-counterfeiting features.

29 - Summer Olympics conclude in Athens; Canada wins 12 medals, three of them gold. Massive demonstrations held in Manhattan as Republican delegates arrive for national convention.

30 - Louise Charron and Rosalie Abella are appointed as judges of Supreme Court of Canada following first-ever parliamentary review.

31 - Special committee looking into allegations against Hollinger International's board accuses Conrad Black and other controlling shareholders of looting the company of millions. Former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic begins his defence against war-crimes charges.

SEPTEMBER

2 - President Bush accepts presidential nomination at Republican convention in New York.

3 - Russian commandos storm school held by Chechen separatists in Beslan, North Ossetia; at least 350 people are killed, nearly half of them children.

7 - U.S. military death toll in Iraq passes 1,000.

9 - Nick Lysyk, former Edmonton banker who defrauded Bank of Montreal of $16.3 million, is sentenced to seven years in jail. Court awards Melissa Crawford, 20, a severely disabled Ontario woman brain-damaged at birth, $10 million in largest personal injury award in Canadian history.

13 - Ontario court approves Canada's first same-sex divorce. Death toll from hurricane Ivan's six-day journey across Caribbean rises to 68.

14 - Team Canada wins World Cup of Hockey, defeating Finland 3-2.

15 - First ministers complete agreement that will see Ottawa pump an additional $18 billion into medicare over six years. NHL board of governors approves a lockout of players.

16 - Court decision makes Manitoba the fifth jurisdiction in Canada to allow same-sex marriages. Hurricane Ivan slams into U.S. Gulf Coast, kills 22 more people.

20 - Quebec's Liberal government loses three out of four byelections.

21 - Wheelchair athlete Chantal Petitclerc of Montreal sets world record and wins gold medal for women's 100 metres at Paralympics in Athens.

22 - Fairuz Yamulky, Canadian woman held hostage for 16 days in Iraq, is released.

23 - Death toll in Haiti from hurricane Jeanne rises to more than 3,000.

24 - Nova Scotia becomes sixth province or territory to allow same-sex marriages following court ruling.

27 - Crude oil price hits $50 U.S. a barrel for first time.

29 - After 36 seasons, Expos play their last baseball game in Montreal before the club moves to Washington. Imperial Oil announces it will shift its head office to Calgary from Toronto, affecting 1,500 employees.

30 - Merck & Co. pulls its arthritis drug Vioxx from pharmacies after discovering the drug increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. Air Canada emerges from 18 months of bankruptcy protection.

OCTOBER

5 - Lieut. Chris Saunders dies after fire hits HMCS Chicoutimi, a submarine bought from Britain, in North Atlantic.

7 - Bombardier Aerospace cuts about 2,000 jobs because of slowing demand for its Canadair jets.

8 - Martha Stewart begins serving five-month prison sentence for lying about a stock sale. After 16 years, Elizabeth Weir steps down as leader of New Brunswick NDP.

12 - Nearly 100,000 members of Public Service Alliance of Canada join thousands of other PSAC members already on strike across the country.

18 - Anglican Church commission urges Canadian and American dioceses to stop blessing same-sex relationships.

19 - Margaret Hassan, director of CARE International's Baghdad operations, is abducted.

20 - Canadian dollar breaks through 80 cents US for first time in 11 years.

26 - Public inquiry finds that aboriginal teenager Neil Stonechild was in police custody just before he froze to death outside Saskatoon nearly 14 years ago and that the case was closed prematurely.

27 - Boston Red Sox win World Series baseball championship for the first time since 1918.

29 - Conrad Black says he will resign as chairman and CEO of Hollinger Inc. to help pave way for privatization of the company. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is flown to Paris for emergency medical treatment.

31 - Mirabel International Airport near Montreal is closed to passenger traffic.

NOVEMBER

2 - U.S. presidential election; President George W. Bush emerges as winner.

3 - Hamid Karzai is declared winner of Afghanistan's Oct. 9 presidential election.

5 - Saskatchewan becomes seventh jurisdiction in Canada to allow same-sex marriages.

7 - U.S. and Iraqi forces launch major offensive to seize insurgent strongholds in Fallujah. Landmark environmental report says global warming is occurring in the Arctic at twice the rate of the rest of the world.

8 - A pregnant mother and her seven children are killed in a fire at their farmhouse in West Lincoln, Ont.

9 - Halo 2, one of the most eagerly anticipated video game releases ever, hits store shelves.

11 - Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, 75, dies at age 75. His most senior lieutenant, Mahmoud Abbas, is elected PLO chairman.

14 - More than 100,000 homes and businesses lose power after heavy snow and freezing rain bring down transmission towers in Nova Scotia.

16 - Arab station Al-Jazeera says it has received video showing the execution of Margaret Hassan, director of CARE International in Iraq. U.S. President George W. Bush names Condoleezza Rice as next secretary of state, replacing Colin Powell.

17 - Gen. Ray Henault of the Canadian Forces is chosen NATO's chief military adviser.

18 - Prime Minister Paul Martin kicks MP Carolyn Parrish out of the Liberal caucus after she says she has no loyalty to the party.

19 - Supreme Court rules that B.C. government is not required to pay for costly special autism treatment. British House of Commons ends almost 700 years of fox hunting in England and Wales.

21 - Toronto Argonauts defeat B.C. Lions 27-19 to win the Grey Cup in Ottawa.

22 - Ralph Klein's Conservative party wins 10th consecutive majority in Alberta election.

23 - Ukraine's opposition leader declares himself winner of presidential election as about 200,000 supporters gather in Kyiv to protest election fraud.

26 - The Ontario Court of Appeal rules that denying retroactive same-sex benefits to widowed gays and lesbians violates their rights and is unconstitutional.

30 - U.S. President Bush arrives in Ottawa on his first official visit to Canada. Stan and Frank Koebel, who ran the water system in Walkerton, Ont., during one of Canada's worst public-health disasters, plead guilty to common nuisance.

DECEMBER

1 - President Bush thanks people in Halifax for welcoming Americans after Sept. 11 attacks; asks Canada to support his missile defence shield. Ukraine parliament passes a vote of no confidence, bringing down Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych's government.

2 - Ontario's Appeal Court orders new trial for Robert Baltovich, convicted 12 years ago in the murder of his girlfriend.

3 - Ukraine's Supreme Court orders new vote for Dec. 26.

9 - Supreme Court of Canada says a proposed bill to legalize same-sex marriage is constitutional.

10 - A Canadian Forces pilot is killed when two Snowbird jets collide in mid-air during a training exercise near Moose Jaw, Sask. The London Knights set a Canadian Hockey League record of 30 games without a loss after a 0-0 tie with the Guelph Storm.

13 - CBC's crime drama Da Vinci's Inquest wins Gemini for Canadian TV's best dramatic series while Showcase's Trailer Park Boys takes the comedy series award.

26 - An earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale in Indonesia caused massive tsunamis in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia and the Maldives. See page 3 for details.

28 - Susan Sontag, the author, activist and self-defined "zealot of seriousness" whose voracious mind and provocative prose made her a leading intellectual of the past half-century, died Tuesday. She was 71.

Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko won Ukraine's presidential election by more than two million votes. The Central Election Commission said Yushchenko won 51.99 percent to Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych's 44.19 percent - a difference of about 2.3 million votes.

Publication Date: 2005-01-02
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4788