Last week, an eminent American industrialist who is an old friend, a proud veteran of the U.S. Navy, a patriotic but very reasonable and moderate citizen and a respecter of all other serious nationalities (including Canada), visited me and volunteered that he is in a state of despair about his country.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan and Canada have agreed to cooperate more closely on shipments of natural gas as the country seeks new energy supplies after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Abe, speaking yesterday to reporters in Ottawa at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said Canada is a stable source of energy and can provide gas at competitive prices. Abe said the two countries will hold “ministerial level consultations,” without providing details.

The Mexican ambassador to Canada says his country is “really mad” at the Harper government for the continued imposition of a visa on its travellers here. Ambassador Francisco Suarez told The Canadian Press in an exclusive interview that Mexico is so upset that if the issue isn’t resolved by next year, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto might have to postpone a planned visit to Canada.

Despite the Canadian government shutting down CIDA, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has made clear that he strongly supports Canada focusing on maternal and child health worldwide. The need is clear: more than 7 million children and mothers die every year from largely preventable or treatable causes. But what is needed to make an actual difference to the world’s poorest citizens?

Quebec’s separatist government released a plan on Tuesday to ban government workers — from judges to day care employees — from wearing “overt and conspicuous” religious symbols. The proposed “Charter of Quebec Values,” which would also require members of the public to uncover their faces when dealing with the government, generated widespread controversy after much of it was leaked to a Montreal newspaper earlier this summer. Critics have called the measure unconstitutional and xenophobic.

Last week the Journal de Montreal dropped a bomb on Quebec’s extremely shaky sense of identity by publishing leaked details from the upcoming Charter of Quebec Values set to be released in the fall. Apparently, the government plans to ban employees of public institutions like schools, hospitals and daycares from wearing religious symbols such as turbans, hijabs, kippas, crucifixes, or anything else “conspicuously religious.”

Forty teenage girls from the Middle East are visiting P.E.I. as part of a special language and cultural exchange program. It's a partnership between UPEI, the International Language Institute, and the Abu Dhabi Education Council. The 16- and 17-year-old girls are from the United Arab Emirates, and are living in residence at UPEI. Serena Lambert, academic advisor for the International Language Institute, said the program is highly competitive.

Google search suggestions have transformed into a never-ending source of entertainment and a candid peek into what people look for in the world. We've seen insecurities change with age and stereotypes of states in the US. Noah Veltman banked on the locality of suggestions for a country-specific view of the world. He shows suggestions for the same query for the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.