Justin Bieber
After his escapades in Miami Beach, is there any need to say more?
Cannibal rats
A ghost ship filled with disease-infested rats feeding off each other is heading to Britain, thanks to Canada. The MV Lyubov Orlova was seized by Transport Canada back in 2010 after its owners got into financial trouble. Last year, while towing the ship from Newfoundland to the Dominican Republic to sell it for scraps, the tow line snapped. Transport Canada decided against pursuing the ship, and it's been adrift at sea ever since.
Ted Cruz
The darling of the Tea Party, pegged as the 2016 presidential candidate of choice of the right-wing of the Republican Party, has a problem. The U.S. senator from Texas was born in Calgary, so Cruz plans to renounce his Canadian citizenship. Meanwhile, he's doing plenty of damage in his adopted country.
Asbestos
Canada is finally getting out of the asbestos exporting business after carrying the mantel of international pariah for decades. The Canadian government spent years derailing efforts to put limits on exporting the known carcinogen to developing countries by blocking the labelling of chrysotile asbestos, mined in Quebec, as hazardous under the United Nation's Rotterdam Convention. People in India and elsewhere, where the carcinogen ended up in products, will be feeling the health effects for generations.
Rob Ford
The embattled crack-smoking mayor is still standing his ground in Toronto. But he's also Canada's greatest export when it comes to fodder for late-night comedy jokes in the United States. Host Jimmy Kimmel has even given him the meme treatment, coining #RobFording. Ford also popped up on Jeopardy! this week. "In 2013 Rob Ford, mayor of this 4th-largest city in N. America, first said he smoked weed, not crack…then yes, ok, crack, too," asked Ontario-born host Alex Trebek.
Photo: Joe Bielawa. Used under a Creative Commons BY 2.0 licence.