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Seven people who told officials they entered Canada as spectators to the Vancouver Winter Olympics are seeking refugee status in Canada.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada says six of those people come from countries that don’t require special visas to enter the country.

Owing to privacy law, a spokeswoman says she can’t divulge further identifying information about the claimants, including where they’re from.

It’s not unusual for people attending international sporting events in Canada to make claims, though summer sports usually produce more.

A man believed to be a Romanian coach claimed refugee status during the 1988 Calgary Games, and Olympian wrestler Daniel Igali claimed asylum here after competing at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria.

Immigration spokeswoman Johanne Nadeau said claims could still rise, because the period of time that people who attended the Games are legally allowed to remain here isn’t over.
from http://sports.ca.msn.com/olympics/article.aspx?cp-documentid=23557191

Where does our food come from?

from http://www.flickr.com/photos/molsonblog/3003477444/

Twenty-five countries that ship fruits and vegetables to our country violated Canadian pesticide standards last year, according to documents obtained by CTV News.

Documents from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency show that China, France, Thailand, and Nicaragua are among the countries whose exported food is most likely to test positive for certain pesticides.

According to the report, the biggest violator was the Dominican Republic, with 71 per cent of its food testing positive for pesticides, and 16 per cent violating Canadian standards.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s Christina Hilliard says the agency conducted some 22,000 tests on imported food last year. While about one in four tests turned up a positive pesticide result, slightly less than one per cent were found to violate standards.

Read more http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews

2010 Olympic Cauldron at the Vancouver watrefront

This caudlron at the IBC (International Broadcast Centre) building was lit by Wayne Gretzky after he lit the one at the BC Place Stadium on Feb 12, 2010 during the opening ceremony for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. This flame will remain lit until the closing ceremony on Mar 01, 2010. [Feb 21, 2010 Photo by Ray Van Eng]
from http://www.flickr.com/photos/rayvaneng/4381716046/

VANCOUVER, BC – FEBRUARY 28: The Russian Team walks through the stadium during the Closing Ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics at BC Place on February 28, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada.
from http://www.flickr.com/photos/46780781@N04/4397260270/

A clown playfully connects two power wires to raise an arm from the Olympic Caudron during the closing ceremony for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
from http://www.flickr.com/photos/volkskrant/4397352531/

Japanese athletes pose for a photo during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games closing ceremony at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 28 February 2010.
from http://www.flickr.com/photos/volkskrant/4397349565/

Euphoric end to a bittersweet Olympics

They were the resilient Winter Games — beginning in shock, ending in euphoria.

Opening day was overshadowed by the death of a luger in a training-run crash. The finale couldn’t have been more festive — a tribute to the organizers, who persevered despite first-week setbacks, and to the Canadian team, which surged to glory after a shaky start.

A crowd of 60,000 filled BC Place Stadium for Sunday’s closing ceremony, many of them Canadians reveling in the overtime victory over the United States just a few hours earlier by their men’s hockey team. That win, in the games’ final event and in Canada’s most cherished sport, gave the host nation a Winter Olympics record of 14 gold medals and set off wild celebrations across Vancouver.
Read more http://www.mail.com/Article.aspx/sports/olympics/APNews/Olympics/20100301/U_OLY-Closing-Ceremony?pageid=1

from http://www.flickr.com/photos/sagamiono/4398224770/

from http://www.flickr.com/photos/sagamiono/4398247456/

As the men’s Olympic gold medal hockey game between Team Canada and the U.S. went into overtime Sunday, tens of thousands of fans in downtown Vancouver stood in agonizing anticipation.

Just off the intersection of Granville and Georgia streets, crowds crammed together to watch coverage through department store windows.

At the corner of Burrard and Robson streets, fans were glued to raised TV screens that were, for some, half a block away and barely visible. A sea of red jerseys, red shirts, red body paint and red hair dye coloured the crowd.

Moffat & eight of his students are working the Fairmont Chateau Whistler kitchen and it’s been a whirlwind of an adventure and learning.

And there’s no shortage of culinary celebrities! The team met the highly humble and personable Canadian giant, Chef, Michael Smith.

Thompson Rivers University, BC Canada, takes its Culinary Arts program, complete with labs, course work, students and an instructor to Whistler during the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games.

A team of eight, Cook level 1, Culinary Arts students will learn their cooking lessons in the kitchens of the Fairmont Chateau Whistler from February 6 to March 2 during the height of the Olympic Games.

“Being involved in culinary activities right in the heart of the 2010 Winter Olympics is an amazing opportunity for our students from the School of Tourism at TRU,” said Dr. Harold Richins, TRU Dean of Tourism. ” We are also very excited that this is taking place in partnership with one of the top hotels in BC – the Fairmont Chateau Whistler.”

Read more http://newsroom.blog.mytru.ca/2010/01/27/culinary-arts-students-embark-on-olympic-opportunity/

Memorial at the base of the Whistler Olympic Rins for Georgian luge racer Nodar Kumaritashvili.

from http://www.flickr.com/photos/susangittins/4364769360/