Big news of 2009

Lucy Scholey, News Editor
Laura Parlee, Assistant News Editor

Swine Flu
Feeling under the weather? The H1N1 epidemic was inescapable in the news world this year. It was linked to nearly 387 deaths in Canada. They told us we could get the vaccine, they told us it would only be available to priority groups, then they told us we could get it again. This roller coaster of information created long line-ups and cranky parents at the vaccine clinics. Now there’s a possibility of a third wave.

Lisa Raitt
Nova Scotian reporter, Stephen Maher, came across a sweet scoop this year when he found a tape recording of Minister of Natural Resources Lisa Raitt dishing her true thoughts about other ministers and important issues. She dismissed health minister Leona Aglukkaq’s abilities, and called the isotope crisis a “sexy issue”, creating media frenzy. Cue a teary apology, fire responsible assistant and viola: crisis averted.

Obama Nobel Prize
Shit hit the fan when Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize last October. With his support for the war in Afghanistan – a 30,000 troop surge shortly after receiving the Nobel – and wavering Middle East peaces talks, many people were baffled at his win. But he had his supporters, too. After all, one of his first orders of business was closing Guantanamo Bay. He’s also promoted nuclear nonproliferation and reached out to the Muslim world.

Olympic Torch relay
The upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics has almost everyone hyped up. In Nova Scotia, many people gathered on Brunswick Street to watch hockey prodigy Sidney Crosby carry the torch and hand it to Olympic snowboarder Sarah Conrad. That’s not to say the sporting event has attracted all positive attention. People across the country have protested the games, saying the province is hosting the event on stolen Native land.

MJ death
Pop icon and controversial court case winning Michael Jackson died suddenly last summer of heart failure. The media erupted, as stories about his assets, custody of his children and full live coverage of the star studded funeral dominated news.

Economic meltdown
If you weren’t already in a “how-will-I-find-work-with-my-arts-degree” crisis, then this gem of news probably put you there. Many students gave grad school a second thought or stretched their degree a little longer. Best to hide from the work force at this time. Now that we’re apparently crawling out of the recession, things might be looking brighter for students.

Afghanistan
This is an obvious one. Since Canada embarked on the Afghanistan mission in 2001, we’ve seen endless headlines. Despite the usual, pro-war anti-war debates, there have been flare-ups with the treatment of Afghan detainees and a promised exit date that wasn’t met. We’ll see whether and how the gears will shift once the next 2011 exit date approaches.

NS NDP win
They called it “orange crush” for a good reason. As last June’s election drew closer, the question changed from “which party will win?” to “will the NDP have a minority or a majority?” It was the latter, when the party swept 31 out of 52 seats in the legislature. The party’s win was also the first in Nova Scotia history.