The country's five language commissioners (Canada, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario) are calling on the federal and provincial governments to step up their efforts to ensure the vitality of official languages. The commissioners made their appeal during the Language and Territory International Conference, which is being held at Laurentian University in Sudbury this week.

What started 13 years ago as a local event with 2,600 participants has now grown to take a place on the world stage.

"It's like being voted among the great wines," said Johanne Caron, Assistant Director General for the Marathon des Deux Rives. "We never even went to the London Marathon. It's a big honour."

The scene: A scientific conference in Quebec City
The crime: A high profile murder, at the root of it the herb known as nightshade.

Ottawa-based private detective Sam Montcalm is on the case, a trail that leads from Quebec City to Ottawa to the Gatineau Hills.

Those are the particulars of Nightshade, the latest novel by Ottawa-based writer Tom Henighan.

A 22-year old woman from Ancienne-Lorrete has been selected to the Canadian swim team for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, scheduled for October 3 to 14 in Delhi, India.