April 2015
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On “ adians
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JOHN HOPPS
John Peter Humphrey HUGH LE CAINE
FREDERICK BANTING LOUIE SAM JOHN WILSON MURRAY
HENRY MORGENTALER
WILDER PENFIELD
JAN LISIECKI
Introduction
This third edition of AIM on knowledge is not that much
different from the previous two. The articles are the result of
research done by the students in their English 103 course and
they had the freedom to choose their topic according to their
interests.
That freedom was restrained greatly when I submitted the idea
of making them write about a “famous not too well-known”
Canadian. My dictatorial approach left them with the freedom
of choosing among all the great Canadians who accomplished
amazing things in the past, but whose inventions, discoveries
or accomplishments are much better known than they are.
So I suppose this third AIM on knowledge is a bit different
after all.
By Alain Gilbert
English teacher
[email protected]
I also wish to inform you that the magazine is now available
online. Sonia Cadoret, a teacher in Printing Management, and
her students worked on the online version which gives access
to the first two magazines and will later this year include this
edition. An online version provides the opportunity to add
documentation to the articles in the form of video segments or
written documents. You can also submit a comment through
the site. To consult the online version, simply go on the Cégep
Beauce-Appalaches website and click on the Facebook page
of the cégep.
I hope you enjoy this AIM on knowledge, and I invite you
to send a comment to the student journalists through the
website. I am convinced they will appreciate it.
Credits
> Journalist’s picture:
Amélie Cadorette,
Student in Gestion de projet en communications graphiques
> Magazine’s layout and
Customer service representatives:
Students in Gestion de projet en communications graphiques:
> Financial support:
AGÉ and CBA
Léa Weissmuller, William Nadeau, Nadia Chih, Nicole Bolduc,
Philippe Gagné, Catherine Roy and Alexandra Paquet
Content
EditorialS
Alexandra Jacques
Andréa Tremblay
Protecting the Media’s Neutrality
Hippies Would Agree!
6
8
Health
Éric Lessard
Nicolas Labranche
Rachel Roy
Sarah-Jane Doyon-Dallaire
The Brain… Electrically Stimulated!
When Epilespsy Racks Your Brain
The Banting Behind the Insulin Discovery
An Electrifying Invention…In Canada!
10
12
14
16
Society
Charlotte Poulin
Élizabeth Fortier
Let’s Fast-Forward the Medical Time Machine! 18
The Birth of Human Rights
20
Music
Heidi Janelle
Laurie Dallaire
Music, the Spice of Life
The Electronic Sackbut: Father of Today’s Music
People
Rébecca Bélanger
Sergio Chiraz
Canada’s Great Detective
Our Home and Native Land
14 20
26
28
22
22
24
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www.cegepba.qc.ca
Editorials
Protectin
g the Me
Neutralit
y
The Liberal Party won the election
of April 2014. Afterwards, Pauline Marois resigned as the Parti
Québecois leader. Thus, there is
currently a PQ leadership race
and Pierre-Karl Péladeau (PKP),
the main owner of Québecor, is
one of the potential candidates.
However, we must ask ourselves
a question: Should we let him mix
politics and business? For many
reasons, Pierre-Karl Péladeau
should not run the PQ.
By Alexandra
Jacques
6
Québecor is the largest media
conglomerate in Canada. According to LaPresse, Pierre-Karl Péladeau owns 75% of its interest; it is
his father’s inheritance. Québecor
Media’s Empire holds more than
200 newspapers, TVA (the biggest
distributor of French-language
entertainment, information and
public affairs in North-America),
Archambault, 10 magazines and
the Vidéotron cable company.
PKP is now a front-runner as Pauline Marois’s replacement. The
Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ)
dia’s
introduced a motion that consists
in forcing PKP to renounce to his
holdings in Quebecor to keep his
seat at the National Assembly, the
Liberal Party supports the CAQ;
both parties are convinced that it
is a conflict of interest.
Some people defend PKP, such as
Bernard Landry, Gilles Duceppe
and many other people from the
PQ. They conceive that if PKP
puts his holdings into a blind trust
controlled by nonpartisan people,
then there will be no conflict of
interest. Furtwhermore, some
people argue that he is really important in Québec’s history, so we
should not exclude him from the
leadership race.
The first reason why PKP should
not run the PQ is that he is Québecor’s majority shareholder and
he has unbridled influence on the
world of media. According to the
TV show Enquête, Québecor represents 40% of Québec’s media
forces. This is huge. Therefore, his
place as the PQ leader would enhance his influence
in our province even if he puts his holdings into a
blind trust. In the last few years, it was proven that
Québecor’s newspapers were not entirely independent from the
inte"Media have to be totally empire’s
rests. They have
independent from politics; it is
published
many
essential for a democracy."
articles
going
against CBC, Bell
Company and the FTQ, its main competitors. Additionally, if PKP becomes the PQ leader, he could easily make decisions that would favor his company’s
interest, it would create cases of intrusion. Lastly, this
motion is not necessarily against him personally, but
in favor of Québec’s democracy because if PKP ends
up becoming the PQ leader, he could decide to hide
information in Quebecor’s networks in order to look
flawless.
The motion needs to be accepted because media
have to be totally independent from politics; it is
essential for a democracy. However, PKP must not
be banned because no businessman will step into
politics. Perhaps they would be really good leaders
since they have great success with their companies.
In conclusion, PKP should not lead the PQ for many
reasons. Even if he puts his holdings into a blind
trust, it is not ethically acceptable because it would
be a gigantic violation of civil rights; we deserve to
be informed with neutrality. We have two choices:
either we give PKP the power to become a media
mogul, or we protect our democracy.
AIM on knowledge
7
Editorials
Hippies Woul
Agree!
By Andréa
Tremblay
8
d
Colorado and Washington states have
already legalized cannabis for both
recreational and medical use, but it
is still a process carefully supervised
and closely followed by other countries like Canada. Laws are a lot more
severe than they are for cigarette
trading. Here in Canada, any possession or trade of marijuana is illegal.
However, marijuana should be legalized instead of cigarettes, and these
should be banned from our markets.
The legalization of pot is a very controversial subject. The fact is that this
drug has known effects on its users’
brain capacities of reaction and coordination that may represent a danger for other citizens. On the other
hand, it is used as a cure for some
troubles and diseases like glaucoma
and its recreational use could also be
considered as a stress reducer. There
is no actual debate concerning the
prohibition of cigarettes even if laws
become stricter as we discover more
about its effects on people, both
smokers and non-smokers.
Cannabis, even when it is not smoked,
increases the heartbeat and therefore blood pressure, a risk for people
with heart disease. It also affects one’s
capacity to react rapidly and reasonably. In some situations it can lead to
fatal accidents. A study realized by
the University of Colorado School of
Medicine reveals that car accidents involving drivers having consumed marijuana significantly increased after its
medicinal use was legalized in 2009
compared to 34 other states without
the same laws. It is then relevant for
Canadians to refuse allowing their
compatriots to represent a public
threat.
This fear of cannabis seems legitimate. However, this plant has less
negative effects than the cigarette
actually has on smokers. With all
the studies made on the subject,
the known relation between cigarette and higher risks of developing lung cancer should be a good
reason enough to ban it from our
stores. The Canadian Cancer Society
explains that 85% of all lung cancer
diagnoses are related to cigarette
smoking and that it kills more than
250 non-smokers every year only in
Canada. The number of deaths directly caused by this product should
represent a significant reason to prohibit its trade and consumption.
None of these substances are fundamentally healthy, but if cannabis
producers were as closely watched
as hemp’s are now (hemp can be
used to produce marijuana), the
risks of overdoses and other harms
to consumers would be decreased
significantly. The current surveillance
is very strict and it would be easy for
our government to redirect it to cannabis plantations. Most importantly,
it is necessary to rigorously monitor
cannabis, just like society already
does for cigarettes.
As a summary, marijuana has both
positive and negative effects on
people smoking it. The Canadian
government ought to consider them
before legalizing marijuana’s use.
However, as we know that cigarette
has no positive influence on our
health and dreadful consequences
on the life of everybody related to
it, our society should favor the lesser
evil. At least, it will be a more effective way to reduce our stress than by
inhaling rocket fuel and any other
poison hidden in cigarettes.
AIM on knowledge
9
By Éric
Lessard
What an amazing mechanism the brain is! Unfortunately,
it is not perfectly known since it is extremely complicated.
Nonetheless, many scientists have discovered an impressive amount of technologies and techniques that help
people cure many illnesses and get rid of seizures. The
Electrical Stimulation of the Brain (ESB) is one of those
great inventions were enormously perfected by a pioneering neurosurgeon who changed the way we see the
brain: Wilder Penfield. However, is it still used today for
the same reasons as when it was first invented, and is it
totally safe?
10
Health
The Brain…
Electrically
Stimulated!
Wilder Penfield was the first one to use Electrical Stimulation of the Brain in surgery. Born in 1891 in Washington,
he was later recruited from New York to work at McGill
University as a Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery
in 1928. At that time, he had a clear vision: to create an
institute where scientists and clinicians would work altogether so they could be more effective. Of course, as a
determined person, that is what he did a couple of years
later to finally open the Montreal Neurological Institute
in 1934. As another accomplishment, Dr. Penfield succeeded in mapping the cortex — which is the surface of
the brain — and the cortical vortex related to speech for
the very first time.
How it all started
To begin with, the ESB was first truly practiced through
the Montreal Procedure, invented by Wilder Penfield, to
treat people with epileptic seizures. As this marvellous
neurosurgeon said, ‘‘the problem with neurology is to
understand man himself.” Indeed, his technique consisted in sending small electric shocks to different areas
of the patient’s brain while keeping him completely conscious by administering him a local anaesthetic. Then, as
a second step to this surgery, a piece of the patient’s skull
was removed so the surgeon could put a few electrodes
on specific parts of his brain. Throughout the whole operation, they asked him various questions to understand
how he reacted to the stimulations so they could then
identify the exact parts that could safely be removed in
order to, in the best of the cases, entirely alleviate the epileptic seizures. Astonishing but true, as early as the 1950s,
more than half the patients were completely cured with
this revolutionary technique. Thus, this method was a real
breakthrough in medicine and Dr. Penfield succeeded in
exploring neurology by trying to understand man himself
just like he had always wanted to.
A great procedure, but not
perfect
Even though the electrical stimulation of the brain is not
much of a risky method, there are a few criterions that
must be followed carefully. To begin with, anyone with
a cardiac pacemaker or any other medical implant who
wishes to resort to this therapy will probably be refused.
In fact, the electrical shocks, although slight and short,
could interfere with the other medical equipment and that
could cause major problems. Furthermore, the person
undergoing an ESB procedure must be free of any type
of infection in addition to discontinuing, in some cases,
any medication for a prescribed period of time before the
surgery. On top of all these criterions, there are also some
rare risks related to this technique, such as haemorrhage,
infection, infarction and cerebral oedema (accumulation
of fluid in the intracellular or extracellular spaces of the
brain). Nevertheless, everyone should consider the fact
that these possible complications are extremely rare so
there is no reason to be afraid of trying it if needed. Consequently, even though ESB has more benefits than risks,
it is not an entirely perfect procedure.
A surprisingly fast evolution
Of course, the electrical stimulation of the brain has been
veritably evolving through the last century as a result to
its incredible utility. In fact, many clinicians and physicians
have been working together at the Montreal Neurological
Institute andthat obviously had a great effect on this technology which has been improved and taken to a whole
new level. From now on, it is possible to treat tremors and
dystonia, but also severe illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease, using the Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), which is
one of the many therapeutic applications that use electrical shocks to stimulate the brain. As a matter of fact,
‘‘Deep Brain Stimulation is effective in treating tremor in
up to 88% of Parkinson disease patients.” Amazing, right?
Moreover, it is just one of the many incredible benefits related to the ESB. Besides, this technology is also regularly
used as a pain management tool especially for people
who suffer from back problems that cannot be eased
through medication. Therefore, the possibilities related to
this technology are way more abundant than they were in
the 1950s and they are still getting more and more numerous.
What is to come ahead with
this technology is almost
infinite
Today, scientists from all around the world are very confident facing the potential of the electrical stimulation of
the brain. In fact, they believe that it could easily treat disorders like depression and chronic pain as well as helping people recover faster from strokes. Moreover, some
of them seriously think that enhancing learning, memory,
and creativity in healthy people is a possibility, which it is
totally coherent because it has been partly demonstrated
by studies on a few people in the past ten years. Indeed,
one of these people said, after his brain had been electrically stimulated a couple of times: ‘‘I think I find words
more quickly and my speaking is more fluent, even with
words I haven’t had therapy on.” So it is not completely
proven that it boosts the brain power, but it will surely
be studied in depth eventually considering that ESB is in
constant evolution.
To conclude, the electrical stimulation of the brain is
an important invention that was used for the first time
through surgery by Wilder Penfield, a neurosurgeon that
revolutionized the science of medicine. Of course this
technique may have some risks, but it is not much of a
big deal compared to all its benefits. So, considering the
speed at which the ESB is evolving, a lot of things could
be done within the years to come. Who knows, perhaps
in a decade or so, intelligence will not only be a matter of
genetics anymore.
AIM on knowledge
11
By Nicolas
Labranche
The human brain
has fascinated the whole of
humankind through the ages by its wondrous prowesses
as well as its arcane complexity. Given that it is such a complex organ, it’s no surprise that brain disorders are just
as arduous to understand. For instance, people used to
explain some particularly controversial brain phenomena
such as epilepsy seizures by asserting that these were the
result of being possessed by the devil. However, a brilliant
Canadian neurosurgeon called Wilder Penfield couldn’t
handle the several flaws in our comprehension of brain
disorders and more specifically, he wasn’t satisfied with
most of the treatments for epilepsy that were proposed
in his time. The upcoming paragraphs will briefly set forth
the definition of epilepsy, the causes of this disorder and
lastly, the surgical procedure pioneered by doctor Wilder
Penfield, which is also known as the Montreal Procedure.
12
Health
When Epilepsy
Racks Our
Brain
Wilder Penfield (1891 – 1976) was a Professor
of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill who became
incredibly prominent in the numerous areas in which
he had been involved. Ever since he was a young child,
Wilder was determined to succeed throughout his studies and thus he generally managed to remain top of his
class. Not only did he show an astonishing performance
academically, but he was also a truly skilled athlete, and
played football in order to receive a prestigious scholarship. Early in his surgeon career, Penfield was already
being quite ambitious hence what he declared back in
1921: «Brain surgery is a terrible profession. If I did not
feel like it will become different in my lifetime, I should
hate it. » During his career, the neurosurgeon did make
various contributions towards neurology and especially
in the field of epilepsy. Many friends of him asserted that
he was a great human being with a profound desire to
improve the life of his patients.
To begin with, it is essential to properly define what
epilepsy genuinely is for the sake of clarity. Epilepsy is a
merely neurological disorder whereby the affected individual is at risk for recurrent unprovoked seizures. Quite
evidently, there is no static definition for this disease and
therefore, there is actually a myriad of ways to describe
it. Nonetheless, it is always crucial not to neglect the definition of an epileptic seizure. In rather simple terms, epileptic seizures are the events that are directly caused by
an exceedingly high level of neuronal activity in the brain,
which necessarily causes symptoms that may be either innocuous thought disturbances or severe physical convulsions. Among the most recurrent symptoms that can be
observed in the course of a seizure, there are temporary
confusions uncontrollable jerking movements of the arms
and legs, loss of consciousness or awareness and diverse
psychic symptoms. Two main types of seizures exist; focal
seizures and generalized seizures. Depending on the
type of the seizure, symptoms may vary as well as the
Considering the huge variety of causes, it somehow complicates the task of finding out the real cause
for each individual. Accordingly, the cause remains unknown for roughly half of everyone with epilepsy. Thus
far, scientific explanations were not brought up yet. Let
us go ahead with the neurologic root of the disorder according to a doctor from Medicinet.com: “Epilepsy is a
brain disorder in which clusters of nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain sometimes signal abnormally. Neurons
normally generate electrochemical impulses that act on
other neurons, glands, and muscles to produce human
thoughts, feelings, and actions. In epilepsy, the normal
pattern of neuronal activity becomes disturbed, causing
strange sensations, emotions, and behavior, or sometimes convulsions, muscle spasm, and loss of consciousness. During a seizure, neurons may fire as many as 500
times a second, much faster than normal. In some people,
this happens only occasionally; for others, it may happen
up to hundreds of times a day.” That being said, you can
tell right off the bat that epilepsy is an excessively laborious topic.
Epilepsy is a merely neurological
disorder whereby the affected
individual is at risk for recurrent
unprovoked seizures.
treatments; Convulsions that are due to epilepsy can be
extremely harmful as they may eventually result in injuries or even in permanent sequelae. Indeed, the victims
often hurt themselves against surrounding objects while
they’re convulsing. Furthermore, it might injure the brain
itself and thus considerably harm their cognitive skills for
their entire lifetime.
Following
on the definition of epilepsy and epileptic seizures, let us approach the scientific causes of this
brain disease more deeply. The causes vary depending
on many factors such as the age. When it comes to newborn children, epilepsy is usually due to brain malformations lack of oxygen during birth, low level of blood sugar,
blood calcium, blood magnesium or other electrolyte
disturbances, inborn errors within the metabolism, intracranial hemorrhages and maternal drug uses. As far as
older children are concerned, causes are often congenital
conditions, head traumas, genetic factors and infections.
It is also possible to develop epilepsy later on as a senior
after a stroke, a trauma or even because of other neurological disorders including Alzheimer’s disease.
Even though we are currently very inclined to treat
most of the epilepsy cases, it was not thus a few decades
ago. Doctor Wilder Penfield came up with an entirely new
surgical procedure to treat epilepsy. He named it the
Montreal Procedure as he pioneered it at the Montreal
Neurological Institute of McGill University. Along with Dr.
Herbert Jasper, Penfield developed this new neurological
approach to annihilate epileptic seizures. The procedure
began with the administration of a local anesthetic by the
surgeon. The aim was to keep the patient conscious during the whole process so that he is able to describe how
he feels in the meantime the surgeon was probing the
tissue of his brain. Consequently, this enabled Penfield
to identify the exact location of seizure activity and then
make it cease completely. With this particular method,
more than half of his patients recovered.
In the end, Wilder Penfield is a Canadian who has
undoubtedly improved medicine and revolutionized
our understanding of the human brain. He managed to
inspire many people thanks to his great humanity and
his mastermind. Epilepsy would perhaps still be a very
complicated disease to treat if Wilder had not lived so
we must be thankful for what he did and bequeathed to
our generation. Despite the humongous contribution of
Penfield, a lot of questions remain concerning the human
brain. Penfield went even further and kept asking himself
throughout his life whether or not there was any sign of
the existence of the human soul in the brain and tried to
find an answer all the way to his death. Will we ever find
the answer?
AIM on knowledge
13
Health
The Banting
Behind the
Insulin
Discovery
Dr. Banting was born from the union of William
Thompson Banting and Margaret Grant on November
14 of the year 1891. The Bantings had five children of
which Frederick was the youngest. They lived on a small
farm near Alliston in Ontario. Growing up, he wasn’t the
brightest in his class. In fact, he struggled to even finish
high school and failed his first year of University in Arts.
But despite all that, with his endless curiosity and hard
work, he finally entered the Faculty of Medicine of the
University of Toronto in September, 1912.
To begin with, when we think of doctors, we don’t
By Rachel
Roy
With all that’s happening these days,
it’s important that we remember the good things great
people from here did, to remind ourselves that our country is strong. To remember people like Frederick Banting,
a great Canadian who discovered insulin, a man who did
wonderful things apart from his research, but who’s not
well known or understood.
14
usually perceive them as being any other thing than a
man in a lab coat. But Frederick Banting wanted to join
the army to help his country during World War I and
after two tries, he finally got accepted in the Canadian
Army Medical Corps. His help didn’t stop there; he participated as a scientist for research during World War II,
where he ultimately found death in 1941 when his plane
crashed while he was leaving for Great Britain for a scientific mission.
But what did he do aside from this?
What did he do to deserve such a place in our history?
Was he some kind of genius that created a weapon of
great destruction like Albert Einstein? Well, maybe he
wasn’t a genius, but he is the one, along with other scientists, behind the discovery of insulin an hormone naturally produced by the pancreas. Its use in the human body
is to keep the sugar level in your blood regulated. If it
gets too high, the person will suffer from hyperglycemia
and if it gets too low, the person will suffer from hypogly-
cemia. Keep in mind that if your sugar level is too high,
you are not going to have hyperglycemia straight away.
The insulin will store it away for later uses when your levels are too low, like when you do physical activities. But
then, if the insulin regulates everything and is naturally
produced, why do some people need it? It is because
they don’t have enough of it to regulate the sugar as it’s
supposed to do. We call this condition diabetes.
As a matter of fact, there are multiple types of
diabetes. Now we need to correct some assumptions
about diabetes. It is true that the majority of people that
have this disease are overweight and it is also true that
it often develops because of this, but we have to keep
in mind that there are two types of diabetes and only
one of them is caused by excess of weight. The type 2,
which is the most common, is often developed because
the person is overweight, but it is not a certainty. When
we talk about diabetes of type 2, the problem the person
has is that they don’t produce enough insulin on their
own or they have insulin resistance, meaning that their
insulin isn’t working properly. The only correlation between being overweight or obese with diabetes of type
2 is that it increases the chances of developing it. It is because the fat around our waist secretes a hormone called
adipokines that may decrease glucose tolerance. Apart
from that, there are other factors that might increase
your chances of developing diabetes of type 2; age and
origins, history of the disease in close family, medical history concerning cardiovascular problems, the development of diabetes during pregnancy for women, having a
higher level of sugar in the blood and, strangely enough,
mental health problem. But, overall, this type is preventable.
Unfortunately, the other one, the less common, is
not. It is called diabetes of type 1 and is caused by the
body destroying its own insulin producing cells in the
pancreas, therefore making it incapable of producing
the insulin needed to regulate the person’s sugar level.
It usually develops during childhood and can be deadly.
For that one, fat has no influence as the majority have a
healthy weight. The problem with this type is that it can
cause great complications like heart disease, gum disease, blindness, kidney failure, nerve damage and bad
blood circulation in the lower limbs. Fortunately, those
can be prevented by checking blood pressure and cholesterol to keep them under 130/85 mmHg and 200 mg
respectively, seeing a dentist and optometrist once or
twice a year and checking the feet.
It stands to reason that we should ask ourselves
why Dr.Banting would do researches on a disease he
didn’t have. Why would he be interested in something
that, at first glance, didn’t concern him? Because we all
know that we usually don’t do anything that doesn’t interest nor has some impact on us. One of the great influences in this regard would be his childhood friend, Jane,
who died of diabetes. Another factor would be when
he was asked to give a lecture about the pancreas and
metabolism while he knew nothing of the subject. He
drew inspiration from multiple articles; the main one being Moses Baron’s that gave him an idea on how to prevent the destruction of the insulin by trypsin in the pancreas. This led him to discuss with J.J.R. Macleod who
gave him the facilities to do his research. Together with
Macleod, they received the Nobel Prize of Physiology or
Medicine in 1923. Little known fact, even if Macleod was
the one who provided him with the means to research
insulin, he strongly disagreed on that decision and made
it well known to the public.
In conclusion, although Frederick Banting was responsible for one of the greatest discovery in the medical field, we can now understand that he wasn’t a genius
nor was he a saint. It shows us that everyone can do great
things if they have enough determination and their will
is strong enough.
AIM on knowledge
15
Health
An Electrifying
Invention…
In Canada!
John Hopps
By Sarah-Jane
Doyon-Dallaire
During the past years, thousands of lives were
saved due to the great progress that has been made in
the medical area. Technologies are now really advanced
and still continue to develop, creating new ways to care
for different illnesses. The pacemaker, a small machine
implanted in the chest that controls the heart rate, is one
of the revolutionary inventions that contributed a lot to
the advances made in medicine. We owe its creation to
a Canadian man named John Hopps, who is an important figure of bioengineering. Without him, a major part
of the knowledge concerning health would, still today,
remain rather limited.
16
was a Canadian Electrical Engineer
and is known as the father of bioengineering due to
the inventions he designed, especially the pacemaker,
which saw the light of day in a quite particular way. In
fact, in the 1940’s, two surgeons, Dr. Wilfred G. Bigelow
and Dr. John C. Callaghan from Toronto elaborated
a technique to make open-heart surgeries easier that
implied cooling down the temperature of the patient’s
body in order to slow his heart rate. However, the major
issue they faced was that the heart had to keep beating
throughout the operation, otherwise, the subject would
die. Fortunately, the two surgeons, one day, found out
unintentionally that they could restart a heart that had
stopped beating with an electrical probe. In light of their
discovery, the two men asked John Hopps to create a
device out of it, which he successfully did.
To begin with, the pacemaker is a very small clinical device that is implanted in the chest of the patient
in order to control his abnormal heart rhythm by stimulating the organ with some electric pulses. Most of the
time, people who need a pacemaker are prone to arrhythmia. This illness is at the roof of the inconstant heart
rate and is divided in two branches: tachycardia, which
represents a heartbeat that is too fast, and bradycardia,
which, in contrast, represents a heartbeat that is slower
than normal. This second type of arrhythmia is the most
common one. The pacemaker is also indispensable to
people who have had a heart block, which is a trouble
in the functioning of the electrical system of the heart.
There are many other reasons that may lead to the insertion of a pacemaker, such as faints that are too frequent
and that might be due to a slower heart rhythm as well
as having heart muscle problems. In addition, there are,
according to the American Heart Association, more than
3 million people with a pacemaker in the world. Furthermore, there are about 600 000 of these machines that
are implanted each year. On the whole, the pacemaker
contributes to improve the state of health of every one
who needs it, which makes it more than essential for
plenty of people.
Additionally, the pacemaker has obviously not al-
ways been the way it is now. Nowadays, its size can be
compared to the one of an USB stick, which makes the
process of implantation a lot easier and faster (usually,
the surgery does not take more than an hour). Pacemakers are inserted close to the collarbone, just below
the skin. Most of the time, people recover within a few
days and can go back to their daily occupations very
quickly. That being said, at the beginning, the first prototypes built by Hopps in 1949 were exceedingly bulky
and couldn’t be inserted in a human body. Indeed, the
patient wouldn’t bear the large machine and the surgery
itself would have been way too risky. By luck, a decade
later, scientists were able to significantly reduce the size
of the pacemaker : it was finally ready to be implanted
in a body. Nevertheless, a majority of devices would
become dysfunctional after a
very short period of time (about
two years) and would then have
to be removed. It’s in the 1970’s
that major progress was made.
European scientists developed a
nuclear-powered pacemaker that
could last up to ten years and that
was as short as 35 millimeters.
They were then powered with plutonium, which was later replaced
by lithium-ion batteries. This type
of battery is still used today. All
in all, modern pacemakers are
the result of many attempts and
prototypes that have been elaborated by several scientists since
the 1940’s.
Subsequently, since the medicine area is constantly evolving and technologies are becoming more
advanced, there are plenty of possibilities that ensue
from the evolution of the pacemaker. As a matter of fact,
according to Medtronic, which is the largest medical
technology company in the world whose mission is to
alleviate pain, restore health and extend life, the pacemaker could revolutionize the health industry if everything goes as expected. In fact, Medtronic is trying to
figure out a way to dwarf the size of this device so that
it can be implanted directly in the heart. This would allow doctors to insert the pacemaker via a tube, called a
catheter, which would be inserted in the leg of the patient from where it would be directed to go straight to
the heart. This surgery would require only a small incision and would last very little time. Making the operation
easier would enable more people to get a pacemaker.
Consequently, an increased number of lives could be
saved. On the whole, the evolution of the pacemaker
is encouraging regarding the future of medicine and
could genuinely revolutionize this field.
In conclusion, the pacemaker is an essential clinical device and, over time, has helped saving and improving the life of thousands of people all around the globe
and will surely lead, in the near future, to a major breakthrough in the health area. Furthermore, don’t you think
it’s rather enhancing to know that the man who is at the
root of this dazzling progression comes from our nation?
Indeed, Canadian John Hopps, known as the father of
Bioengineering, played a key role in the creation of a
revolutionary machine: the pacemaker, which assures a
very promising future in medicine.
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AIM on knowledge
17
the Medical Time Machine!
Life as we know it is changing and it has for many years.
Change is a great thing; it makes us understand that
sometimes the generations before us were wrong or
were missing information. This subject is perhaps one
that has had the most controversy linked to it either
because of ethical questioning or maybe because
of the lack of information. Practically nobody agrees
with other ways of perceiving abortion even though
it has been practiced for the longest time, even in illegal ways. Many crazy or simple people like you and I
have fought for the greater good. Some have won but
others not. Still, they all made things move in a direction of change as did Henry Morgentaler.
But who exactly was Henry Morgentaler? To begin
with, he was a man who lived through tough times
since he was born in 1923 in Poland where the Holocaust struck during the Second World War. Thankfully,
he survived but his parents were not that lucky since
they were both murdered. Shortly after being liberated
from a concentration camp in 1945, he had the brilliant
idea of starting a family practice in the city of Montreal
where he had moved with his wife. That is what made
him start to fight against abortion laws since abortion
at that time was considered illegal and a crime. Eventually, he opened an abortion clinic also in Montreal
since abortion was no longer illegal but it was restricted, that is why his abortions where still illegal. He was
charged many times before the restrictions were annulled. Then, he also fought for the funding of abortion
clinics so that women would not have to pay for the
procedure. In summary, he is the man who changed
abortion for all the women in Canada.
Regardless of the fact that abortions have been legal
for a small period of time, they have been practiced
for more than 3000 years. The first abortions lead back
to the biblical times. The procedure was obviously not
the same as today since in the past they did not have
all the technology we have now. So what were the procedures? Some used abortifacient herbs, some which
18
Society
Let’s
Let’s Fast-Forward
Fast-Forward
By Charlotte
Poulin
would bring on the menstruations and were mostly
given to women that were suspected of being unfaithful. If the drug didn’t work she was proven not guilty
of being unfaithful. However, if the drug did work, the
woman eventually miscarried and was proclaimed
guilty of adultery. Others used shape tools to try and
induce a surgical abortion which was quite dangerous given the rudimentary tools and techniques they
had at that time. Also, some used to beat, squeeze and
press the mothers belly as a revolting attempt to abort
the child. Many of the methods were shown to be inefficient and very dangerous to the mother’s life which
shows us how much abortion has changed for the better, especially in Canada.
The numerous changes in abortion methods have
brought us to the approaches we have currently. For
starters, an abortion can either be spontaneous in the
case of a miscarriage or it can be purposely induced.
A miscarriage is when a mother loses her embryo or
foetus by unsolicited expulsion before the 24th week
of the pregnancy. The abortion is then normally not desired which makes for a tragic event. If the mother gets
pregnant at an older age, it is more likely that she will
miscarry. In contrast, when the abortion is purposely
induced, it is mostly because of an unwanted pregnancy: Four out of ten unintended pregnancies end in
abortion although it can also be because of a genetic
problem in the foetus. There are two types of methods
the women can go through: surgical or medical. The
surgical method is practiced differently depending on
the number of weeks the mother has been pregnant.
If it has been less than 14 weeks but more than 6, the
medical team will vacuum aspirate the fetus or embryo
with the help of a syringe that is operated manually or
with an electric pump which will do the same job as
the manual one. Instead of the vacuum method, if it
is unavailable, the woman can have a sharp curettage
which consists in cleaning the walls of the uterus from
products of conception after having dilated the cervix.
If it has been more than 13 weeks but less than 20, the
woman can go through a dilatation and evacuation
process. This is how it is mostly done in Canada. This
practice involves the dilatation of the cervical canal to
give enough space for the hollow tube to be inserted
and so that it can then be able to empty the uterus of
unwanted tissues. After that, if anything is left, the doctor will use tools to get the rest of the tissues out.
Two other methods exist if it has been more than 20
weeks but they are uncommon since most doctors do
not perform these types of abortion in Canada. The
first one is a partial birth abortion also called intrauterine cranial decompression which is banned in tto let it
out of the uterus more easily.Furthermore, hysterotomy is also a way of having an abortion even if it is not
a method that is used in Canada; it is practiced in the
same way that a caesarean section would be, with the
only nuance that they often give medication by injection so that the foetus is not alive while the operation
is undergoing. Furthermore, the abortion can also be
realised with the help of pharmaceuticals, to up to 63
days of pregnancy, although only 3% of abortions are
done with this procedure since it is less effective and
the process is longer. However, if the abortion is accomplished this way, the most popular substances are
methotrexate and misoprostol which are used together. The methotrexate detaches the embryo from the
uterus to deprive it from nutrients so that it becomes
gradually lifeless. Then, the misoprostol dilates and
softens the uterus and also causes contractions to simplify the expulsion of the embryo. Still, the abortion
may not be complete. As a result, a surgical abortion
is always planned in advance to finish the process. It
is clear that a lot of methods exist as to the process of
abortion.
In conclusion, I absolutely think that there is still place
for positive changes as to the techniques that are used
in abortions. Maybe we will soon have a doctor or a
researcher who will persevere and not back away from
his goals easily. He could then provide us with innovative perspectives that might motivate alterations as to
the abortion procedures and fast-forward the medical
time machine, like Henry Morgentaler did.
AIM on knowledge
19
Have you ever wondered how life would be without
our rights? Actually, those rights we take for granted
are a true gift we should be happy to have. According to Amnesty International 2012 investigations, 112
countries still committed acts of torture against their
own citizens that year. Knowing this fact, we should all
be proud and thankful to John Peters Humphrey for
having an idea to protect people’s rights. This honorable Canadian major contribution to the international
community is being the main drafter of the first version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in
1946. Such accomplishment shouldn’t go unnoticed in
a world where wars bloom and human rights violations
are not uncommon.
John Peters Humphrey was born on April 30, 1905 in
Hampton, New Brunswick. During his childhood years,
he lost one of his arms when he was playing with fire.
It didn’t prevent him from obtaining three Bachelor’s
degrees in Law, Arts and Commerce respectively at
McGill University. Later in his life, he was chosen as
the first Director of the United Nations Division of Human Rights while also being a teacher at McGill University. Humphrey worked on various cases such as
the Women’s Status and Liberty of Press and Opinion
through his 20 years of hard work at The United Nations. He gave his last breath on March 14, 1995.
The horrors that were perpetrated during World War
II motivated many world leaders to find a solution to
stop such inhuman actions. After many drafts and revisions, the solution finally became a reality - the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was adopted in
majority on December 10, 1948 in Paris in the presence of many notable members of the Declaration
Committee such as Eleanor Roosevelt, René Cassin
and P.C. Chang. Out of all the countries that participated in the vote, only eight abstained from giving their
approval to this idea. However, even this brilliant idea
wasn’t enough to contain violence since during the following years, a large amount civil wars sparked around
20
Society
The
The Birth
Birth
of
of Human
Human Rights
Rights
By Élizabeth
Fortier
the globe. For instance, in June 1950, the Korean War
started and caused several casualties like the Bodo
League Massacre where 100 000 alleged communist followers were brutally murdered by South Korean
forces. The numerous murders committed by both
sides and the detention of war prisoners transgressed
various articles from the Declaration and mainly Article
3, which claims that every single human being has the
right to freedom, security, liberty and life. Still today,
North Korea infringes Article 13 by keeping its population from leaving the country. Many thought that human nature would change and become less incline to
violent instincts but is it truly the case nowadays?
Still, infringements to human rights are daily business.
Civil wars in the Middle East have been blooming
lately. Even though humanity has evolved in the past
fifty years, human beings haven’t changed that much
concerning conflicts. In April 1992, during the Bosnian
War, various articles weren’t respected. The use of
armament in heavily populated areas, numerous murders and ethnic cleansing were a few of the many war
crimes committed. Bosnian Serbs persecuted Bosnian
Croats and Bosnian Muslim due to religious beliefs
and resorted to murders, rapes and deportation of
people. The Muslims returned the favour to the Serbian
people, which resulted not only in human lives lost but
by the destruction of various buildings, religious ones
particularly. Such actions go against Article 18 which
states that every human being has the right to religious
liberty, and Article 9 stipulates that no one should be
victim of detention or exile. Sadly this conflict lasted
for four years and more than 100 000 people died.
Besides World War II, the Bosnian War is the most ravaging conflict to have taken place in Europe.
More recently, the Syrian Civil War has also taken a spot
for human rights violations. It started almost four years
ago and is still raging on. Caused by political instability
and popular unrest against the government policies,
it has, so far, caused the death of approximately 190
000 people. It all started in March 2011, when mass
protests erupted in many regions. Because of such
conditions, fights between protesters and police officers were the reason of the death of 90 civilians and 9
policemen as of March 25, 2011. Lately, in June 2014,
there was an attempt to a democratic election which
failed since most of Syria is controlled by revolutionary
groups particularly the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and
Syria). Due to the fear it creates, in more than 60% of
the country, no elections were even held. This prevents
the people from fulfilling one of their most important
rights- the right to vote in a democratic system. The
situation of Human Rights in Syria has been a problem for decades. Until 2011, the gatherings of more
than five people in public were punishable by law. This
decision contravenes to Article 20 which claims that
everyone has the right to take part in peaceful assemblies and associations.
Such facts should make us realize how lucky we are to
be born in a society where human rights are way more
respected than in the situations above. This doesn’t
mean that there are no infringements in our country
but obviously we are in a considerably pleasant situation. Even if we tried our best, there would still be inequalities. This is the way the world is but we can do
our best so every human being on Earth can have the
same protection and rights that we have now. At the
same time, this would surely help to lessen the number
of armed conflicts. This should be a world priority, to
make this dream a reality.
Ultimately, John Peters Humphrey was one of those human beings who did such feat and weren’t rewarded
enough for it. Not only he worked on the Declaration
of Human Rights but also was an ardent defender of
women’s rights and status all around the world. He
worked on various cases where women were abused
and flouted. He was a man who was ahead of his time.
He never faltered to stand up for those who couldn’t
and this is a true example of humanity.
"Many thought that human nature
would change and become less
incline to violent instincts but is it
truly the case nowadays?"
AIM on knowledge
21
Music,
the S pice of L ife
Since the beginning of time, music has made the world
go round. Music has been going on for a very long
time, centuries, but it has become such an important
part of our lives. With all the technologies, people
can listen to it wherever they go. Playing a musical instrument is a hobby, or a passion for so many people
around the world. For pianist Jan Lisiecki, it is a lot
more than a passion. It has become a way for him to
escape the real world and transport himself into another world. What other benefits does playing music
have on human beings? Why should children, teenagers, and adults start playing a musical instrument?
There are probably a lot more reasons than what you
might think.
By Heidi
Janelle
helps many students in school. Student musicians
score an average of fifty-one points higher on the verbal section of the SAT examination (Scholastic Aptitude Test) and thirty-nine points higher on the mathematics section. Also, people who major in music are
more likely to be admitted in medical schools. Some
people who have played music for only eight months
can see their spatial IQ rise forty-six percent. Another
fact is that scholars who play one or more instruments
normally have a higher GPA (Grade Point Average)
than scholars who do not play an instrument. In fact,
the number of students who graduate from a school
Jan Lisiecki, a nineteen year old pianist, started the art
with a music program is almost always higher than
of music at the young age of five. His talent developed
schools without one by almost twenty percent, on
very quickly even though musical talent doesn’t run in
average. Finally, people who play a musical instruhis family. Eventually, he started playing with orchesment are usually better in school. For extras, in which he has been playing since
ample, Jan Lisiecki skipped four grades
the age of nine. He has even played for
“Musical training is
in school, which made him graduate
the Queen of England! For this young
pianist, playing for the Queen wasn’t a more potent instrument from high school at a younger age than
than any other, because
most. Playing music can have very posiany more stressful than playing for anytive consequences on students’ grades.
one else: “Every audience is equally
rhythm and harmony
important even if it’s the Queen, five
find their way into
Playing a musical instrument also has efpeople, a thousand or ten thousand.
the inward places
fects on people’s everyday lives. For the
Each person deserves a good interof the soul.”
brain, playing music is like a workout for
pretation.” Jan Lisiecki travels all over
the body, because it is one of the only acthe world to give concerts, whether it’s
tivities that uses and triggers the full brain. Therefore,
in North America, South America, Europe or Asia. He
people who play a musical instrument have a better
also has three discs published, so that people can
memory most of the time. Jan Lisiecki says, “Music is a
enjoy his interpretations of famous composers, such
way to step back and be in your own world, especially
as Mozart and Chopin.
with everything going so fast, like Facebook or Twitter.” Music helps to let out anger. For example, when I
Many people play a musical instrument. It is said
am angry, I will often go play a soft song on the piano
that about half of the world’s population plays or has
to help me relax and think about something else. It
played a musical instrument. The effects that art has
helps me to get rid of all the anger that is boiling inon human beings are simply amazing. First off, music
side of me. Playing a musical instrument also helps
people to be more patient and perseverant, for they
have to have patience to practice every day and to
persevere through it, even when it gets hard and we
want to quit. Musicians, especially pianists, even have
22
Music
manifested a higher capability to think ahead. This
probably comes from the fact that we have to memorize long pieces in preparation for a concert or contest.
It definitely does not happen in the blink of an eye.
Memorizing a long piece in preparation takes a very
long time. All this proves that people should take up a
musical instrument if they haven’t already.
Finally, music helps children in their development,
school and life. To begin with, taking music lessons,
for children, helps them to be able to memorize a
lot better and to be able to pay attention for longer
amounts of time. These two points are very useful for
them in school. Studies show that youngsters who
play music have lower chances of having disciplinary troubles at school or in other areas of their lives
in the future. It has even been shown that they use a
lot less drugs or alcohol throughout their lives. As the
Simply Music Institute of Learning and Education says,
“Ninety percent of preschool children that have music
training display an enhanced ability to understand,
define and explain words.” This is amazing, because
children as young as four already radiate the benefits
of music. According to Jan Lisiecki, “Everybody has
music within them and it’s only a question of how it’s
explored at any age.” Music also helps children to be
more creative, whether it’s through an art project, writing an essay, or just their imagination. They are able
to have better studying routines, as opposed to so
many children these days who just play games on the
computer and don’t worry about studying. Another
benefit of playing music is that it helps a child’s sense
of confidence to grow. As a result, they become more
confident in themselves, whether it’s while playing in
a concert or at school. Lastly, music helps children become less scared of going on stage as they get used
to going on stage for concerts or contests. It can even
give them a feeling of achievement.
Remember all of the benefits that come with learning a musical instrument. Of course, it costs money,
it takes a lot of practice, and boy does it take a lot of
perseverance, but with stubbornness and good will,
we musicians are able to keep going and persevere.
It can even bring happiness to the person playing the
instrument and to all the people around him. People
are happy to listen to music, especially when it’s a
child or a teenager playing the instrument. Not everyone will become as famous as Jan Lisiecki, but the
benefits are too great to skip playing music for that.
Plato, a very important Greek philosopher, once said,
“Musical training is a more potent instrument than any
other, because rhythm and harmony find their way
into the inward places of the soul.”
AIM on knowledge
23
The Electronic Sackbut:
Father of Today’s Music
Music would not be the same without the invention of
the synthesizer. It had a great influence on its evolution
and it also created some of the music styles we listen
to today, such as Hip Hop, Pop and Electronic music.
When we listen to the radio, most of the sounds in
today’s music are created by synthesizers or samplers.
As far as we know, the first voltage-controlled synthesizer to be built is the Electronic Sackbut, invented by
Hugh Le Caine.
Hugh Le Caine was brought up in Port Arthur, Ontario.
When he was young, he imagined “beautiful sounds”
that he thought could be created by electronic inventions, so he started experimenting with electronic
devices and building instruments. Growing up, he
earned a Master of Science Degree from Queen’s University and even joined the National Research Council
of Canada, where he got recognized as a scientist and
published useful papers, but his passion for music
stayed with him. In 1945, he began to work alone in
his personal studio and designed several music instruments such as the Electronic Sackbut, the Touch
Sensitive Organ, the Special Purpose Tape Recorder,
the Printed Circuit Keyboard, the Spectrogram and
the Oscillator Bank. A couple of years later, he did 4
years of Graduate Studies in Physics, but went back to
his work on electronic music. When he was older, Le
Caine composed music. In 1955, he composed “Dripsody”, which probably still is one of the most-played
examples of “musique concrète”, but said: “I did not
regard myself as a composer. However, I felt that the
only way to understand the composer’s interest in the
apparatus was to try to use the equipment myself in
the various current musical forms”. He died of his injuries from a motorcycle incident in July 1977.
24
By Laurie
Dallaire
The Electronic Sackbut’s prototype was built inside a
desk, between 1945 and 1948. There were two creative ideas that stood out in its conception: the development of voltage control and the possibility to
adjust wave forms as timbres. It had an automatic
background voltage that could change in proportion
to the user’s needs. The right hand played the keyboard and affected the pitch by applying horizontal
pressure and the volume with vertical pressure. The
left thand controlled different aspects of the timbre of
the sound. Each finger controlled its own aspect. The
index finger operated the device to alter the wave
form. A moveable pad made a link at any point inside
the range of many possibilities.
Le Caine redesigned the Electronic Sackbut in 1969
with up-to-date technology. There was an attempt in
1971, when it was completed, to manufacture it commercially as a voltage-controlled electronic keyboard
instrument, but it failed. For the level controls, the final
Sackbut exploited integrated circuits and the range
was brought to seven octaves. Inside, there was a
pressure sensitive device that controlled the degree
of frequency modulation with low register noise, and
added high register frequencies. There also was a
piece to quickly adjust the wave shape.
Music
As for its influence on music, we could say it had a big
one, even if it was not manufactured, because it was
the first voltage-controlled synthesizer. In the 1960’s,
electronic instruments entered Rock Music. Joe Meek
was one of the earliest to use it with his album “I Hear
a New World”, recorded in 1951. The Beatles are also a
good example of its usage. They first used it in “Strawberry Fields Forever”, in 1967, and even The Doors
for the title track of their album “Strange Days” Many
musicians and bands used it to complete their sound
and it took a leading place in the sound of progressive rock bands, who dominated Rock in the 1970s,
such as Pink Floyd and Electric Light Orchestra. Although it was used a lot, some artists were against it.
Some bands, like Queen, even wrote in their album
liner notes that they did not use a synthesizer. In the
1980s, digital audio was developed, which made creating electronic sounds easier and led to the apparition of Synthpop, the music style that features the synthesizer as the main instrument and influenced most
mainstream bands. Towards the end of the 1980s,
some bands replaced all instruments by synthesizers,
like the Eurythmics and A Flock of Seagulls. Big Beat
emerged in the 1990s. It sounded similar to Electronic
Music with a little bit of Rock, and it was popularized
mostly by Fat Boy Slim, The Prodigy and The Crystal
Method.
As for the 2000s, many music genres appeared because of the advances in music software. The easier
access to music creation led to an increase of homeproduced Electronic Music. Indietronica, a music
genre that began in the early 1990s, became popular
with acts from around the world, like Lali Puna from
Germany, Broadcast from the United Kingdom, Justice from France, and many more. Dance-punk, which
developed in the 1980s, was revived through acts
like Liars, The Rapture and LCD Soundsystem. There
was also a renewed interest in Synthpop, with Fischerspooner and Adult, and in mainstream synthpop with
Ladytron, Cut Copy and The Killers, using vintage synthesizer sounds. Even in styles like Post-hardcore and
Metalcore, some groups began to use synthesizers to
produce rhythms or beats, and auto tuned vocals. It
has been referred to as Electronicore, Synthcore and
Trancecore mostly. Bands such as Asking Alexandria,
Attack Attack! , Enter Shikari and Public Relations are
good examples of this fusion of genres. Nowadays,
almost every music genre we have is based on electronic music, like Hip Hop, Dance, Electropop, Hardstyle, etc.
In conclusion, even if Hugh Le Caine failed to manufacture the Electronic Sackbut, its innovative idea influenced music history. Music would probably sound
different today if the synthesizer did not exist, and the
Electronic Sackbut is one of the reasons why it was
developed that way. As Vanilla Ice said in an interview
with George Stroumboulopoulos: “By the 1970s and
‘80s we had Kraftwerk, Men Without Hats and now
we have Daft Punk. And all of that thanks to Hugh Le
Caine.” AIM on knowledge
25
Detective!
By Rébecca
Bélanger
Detectives have always served as
muses for novels and shows alike,
for their profession intrigues and inspires. While detectives are a part of
the regular system of policing nowadays, every profession needs a pioneer, and the role of investigator was
no exception. Here in Canada, it was
John Wilson Murray who started it
all. His assiduous work allowed justice to be done in times when the
lawless thrived, and even now, the
man serves as a model. The job fit
him like a glove, and when it didn’t,
he changed the circumstances until
it would.
While John Wilson Murray dedicated
most of his life to his profession, a man
existed behind the detective. He was
born on June 15, 1840, in Edinburgh,
where he lived for five years before
his family moved to New York. As a
teenager, he quit school to enroll in
the U.S.S Navy. During the American Civil War, he was a sailor on the
Michigan, where he acted to stop
Confederate spies from capturing the
ship, even though it wasn’t his place
to. Seemingly, that was the event
that sparked in him the desire to investigate the lawless. Consequently,
26
he proceeded as a detective settling cases of various crimes for the
rest of his life. Despite juggling with
both significant cases and smaller
but painstaking ones, he had the
accurate reputation of rarely failing.
However, such an obsession with his
profession would have undermined
his private life. Thus, most of his time
was spent away from his family. His
wife died early, and his two daughters grew up without much sightings
of their own father. On June 9, 1906,
still working at the age of sixty-six, he
suffered from a stroke that led him to
his death three days later.
For all that, Murray’s craft was predominant in his life. His career as a
detective started in 1868, when he
worked for the police department
in Pennsylvania until 1873. Then,
he was employed as a detective by
Canada Southern Railway, in Ontario.
He was to look into robberies, sabotages and the destruction of equipment. In those years, corporations
commonly hired private security services. Furthermore, as the Canada
Southern Railway competed strongly
with the Great Western Railway, Mur-
People
Canada’s Great
ray was also appointed to the sporadic clashes between the two rivals.
A year and a half later, his business
with the CSR made Sir Oliver Mowat,
Attorney General and future Premier
of Ontario, notice him. The latter paid
him to track down a counterfeit operation. Murray was successful, and he
was offered the temporary position
of a provincial detective, although
it turned permanent two years later
as it was incorporated in the regular
police system. The detective was responsible for an area of more than
264,500 square kilometers that included large cities, small towns, and
wilderness. He was Ontario’s only
full-time detective until 1884, when
Joseph E. Rogers was hired. In 1887,
William Greer who had helped by
contract before joined them. A decade later, the investigation branch of
the Attorney General’s Department
was formed, and the two men were
appointed as inspectors, with Murray
as chief inspector.
Perhaps John Wilson Murray’s success was due to how atypical of a detective he was. Indeed, his use of a
mix of traditional investigative meth-
ods and new scientific techniques
propelled forward his investigations.
Additionally, he was considered
the one who popularised the use of
fingerprint analysis, of measuring and
taking plaster casts of footprints, and
he also commonly consulted professionals in science and medicine, such
as the professors at the University of
Toronto’s School of Practical Science.
He asked them for chemical analysis
of evidence, and for post-mortems
of victims who had died suspiciously.
But for most of his cases, he relied
more on legwork, a network of lawenforcement allies and luck. He kept
contact with policemen and detectives, to whom he gave handbills of
wanted men. Every time he was at a
police department, he would consult descriptions and photographs
of prisoners for the possibility of
spotting one of his fugitives. Accordingly, he kept track of other criminals
throughout North America, believing
they could cross to Canada anytime.
Subsequently, he could recognize
criminals on first sight. All in all, he accomplished the jobs of several detectives with success despite the numerous difficulties.
also plenty of instinct. Conscientious work, adequate use of human
intelligence, efficient system of communication and intercommunication,
good luck; those were all traits Canada’s first detective valued above all.
Nonetheless, what others referred
to good luck, he linked to hard and
consistent work. However, while John
Wilson Murray was a thriving detective, his flaws occasionally impeded
his work. He believed criminality was
hereditary. It could skip one or many
generations, but it would always
come back, exactly like a disease.
Criminals could never redeem themselves, and so reforms were exceptions. Additionally, he was racist, as
his memoirs showed, as is expected
from a man of that era. Despite those
copious prejudices, no one argued
that he always found the right criminal. Instead, he was seen as a man
with sound judgement. Moreover,
he prioritised his independence: he
sent few reports to his superiors, and
their telegraph communication went
ignored. At least once, his superiors
threatened to put him on suspension
if he didn’t inform them of his movements.
As someone dedicated to his job,
Detective Murray held a strong opinion for his craft. For him, detectives
were the higher branch of police.
In his words, they were to “follow
criminals to any place and run them
down.” They needed skills acquired
by experience and hard work, but
With time, the great detective’s fame
grew. The population was curious and
eager to hear the story of his cases.
Monthly, he was habitually mentioned in at least one major newspaper, and repeatedly even oftener.
Oddly, public rarely recognized him
in spite of his popularity. This ano-
nymity allowed him to trail criminals without being noticed. During a case, he refused to say a
word that could alarm a suspect,
but as soon as it was completed
he had no qualms on sharing his
tales. Murray seemed to enjoy his
popularity and went on to write
his biography under the form of
memoirs. Co-written with Victor
Speer, an editor at a Toronto advertising agency, Memoirs of a
Great Detective was afterwards
published. Facts were omitted
and details were added, making his adventures seem more
interesting. Decades later, when
the memoirs were reprinted, he
was even compared to Sherlock
Holmes for marketing purposes.
Later on, plays, novels, films and
two television series were created
based on his life.
In conclusion, John Wilson Murray
was the kind of person who stays
unforgettable. He didn’t leave
this world without leaving a mark.
At his funeral, his two daughters
were joined by many politicians,
bureaucrats, newspapermen, and
at least one of the criminals he’d
dealt with. This man’s achievements in a profession that left him
shot, bruised and beaten makes it
unsurprising that even today his
successors regard him with admiration.
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AIM on knowledge
27
By Sergio
Chiraz
Oh Canada, what a country you are!
A country filled with culture, history,
inventions and of course, famous individuals! Yes, there are many famous
Canadians that somewhat help
shape the very country we live in. But
not all of them are known… It’s true,
quite a few Canadians are classed as
a famous individual, but only a handful of today’s youth actually know
who they are. Let’s take for example
Louie Sam. A young Canadian who’s
not famous for a deed or invention
he made, but more for a tragedy
that had fallen upon him. Allow me
to educate you and bring you back
to the time when the very seeds that
made this country were planted. If
you haven’t guessed, I’m bringing
you to the era of the First Nations.
But first, let me tell you a bit about
Louie Sam in order to give you an
idea of what, where and when his
story took place. Louie Sam was your
ordinary young native who was from
the Stól:lõ Nation. His tragic story
took place on a night of February, in
1884. Long story short, Sam was accused of a murder that occurred in
the small town of Nooksack across
the U.S. borders. As a result, he was
hunted down and lynched on Canadian soil by a mob of angry American pedestrians.
28
Now that we know a bit more on Sam,
allow me to give you small but brief
history lesson on the First Nations.
This will allow us to understand in
depth what kind of people they were
and how much our perception towards them changed. Let’s start with
what First Nations stands for: it’s simply the name we give to the natives
that were (and that still are) living in
the lands of what we know as Canada today. It is a historical fact that
there were six main groups of the
First Nations. There were the Woodland First Nations who mainly lived
in the vast forests of the east. Down
south, there were the Iroquoian First
People
Home and
Native Land
Our
Nations who were those who lived
the furthest in the south and were
known to be excellent farmers. In the
grasslands of the Prairies, we had the
Plains First Nations. Up north, there
were the Plateau First Nations whose
location would go from semi-desert
conditions to high mountains and
forests. There were also those that
lived alongside of the Pacific Coast
known as Pacific Coast First Nations
who had access to various kinds of
seafood. And finally, we had the first
Nations of the Mackenzie and Yukon
River Basins who lived in the rigid environment that consisted of dark forests, barren lands and swamps.
Each tribe leader was very often
chosen for his remarkable hunting
skills. Their main mode of transportation were canoes for lakes and rivers
and after their contact with European
explorers, horses became a staple
for the terrain land. They mainly
wore animal skins from various animals such as: moose, deer, caribou,
buffalo, antelope and elk. The First
Nations also believed that we were
meant to live in harmony with Mother
Nature and they give her their thanks
for giving them what they needed
to survive and help shape who they
are in their communities. It is without
a doubt that they had the utmost respect for the environment. But soon,
those traditions and beliefs were set
aside by the influences of the European newcomers. Throughout the
decades, the First Nations were first
seen as great allies for military and
commercial purposes. But as the decades went on, the First Nations were
more and more pushed off their lands
and were labeled as an “inferior”
and “uncivilized” race. Later on, they
were forced to leave their traditions
and ideals behind in order to live on
their lands that now belonged to the
British Crown.
Now that we have a better image of
how the First Nations were seen as,
we can now learn more on the clan
Louie Sam was a part of. Sam was a
member of the B.C. Stól:lõ Nation.
This nation was also known as the Fraser River Indians who lived alongside
the great Fraser River in British Columbia. They were mainly known for
their salmon that was used for meals,
ceremonies and trading with the Hudson’s Bay Company. They were a society that had three classes: the upper
class, the regular class and the slaves
(a class that lasted until the 19th
century). It was also a society where
one’s family status was extremely important since it predetermined what
role they had in the clan. They were
natives who lived on longhouses
and that used canoes as a means of
transportation.
“The next morning,
Sam’s body was
found hanging from
a tree.“
So far, you’ve learned on the First Nations and Sam’s tribe. Now, you will
be able to understand more about
Sam’s story. Sam was a 14 year old
boy who lived in a small Stól:lõ community just a few kilometres from
the U.S./Canada border. Sometime
in February 1884, Sam had been offered job at a small store in the Nooksack community in the U.S. When he
arrived, he was informed that there
were no jobs available and so, he returned home. Coincidentally, on that
same day, the Nooksack shopkeeper
James Bell was shot and his store
was burned to the ground. Accused
for the murder, Sam was tracked by
the local sheriff. But he was able to
give his pursuers the slip and made
it back into Canada. Sam explained
to the leaders of his tribe the situation he was in. Believing in his innocence, they handed him over to the
protective custody of Thomas York, a
deputized Canadian, hoping that he
may be treated fairly. Unfortunately
for Sam, a group of about 100 angry
Americans had other intentions. With
their faces painted black and with
women’s clothes on their backs, they
marched through the borders and
abducted him. The next morning,
Sam’s body was found hanging from
a tree.
As you can imagine, this caused an
uproar that almost started a crossborder race war. Hoping to keep
peace at all cost, the Canadian government swore that they would bring
Sam’s murderers to justice. And so,
British Columbia sent two undercover
officers to the South. They discovered
that a certain David Harkness and
William Osterman were most likely
the ones responsible for Bell’s death.
Harkness was living with Bell’s exwife. They both wanted custody
of Bell’s son. Osterman, Harkness’
brother in law, sided with them
and was the last one to see Bell
alive. Furthermore, both families
profited from Bell’s death with
his estate and used the money
to open a new dry-goods store.
Fearing that Sam would get a
translator from the Canadian
government, they took matters
into their own hands. And so, the
Stól:lõ entrusted the punishment
of the vigilantes and guilty men to
both governments.
When the threat of a cross-border
war had faded, the governments
began lying to the natives saying
that they were still looking into
the matter. It was only on March
1st, 2006 that Sam’s death was
remembered and redressed. The
Washington Senate stated that
both Washington and B.C. governments of that period “failed to
take adequate action to identify
the true culprit of the murder and
bring the organizers and members of the lynch mob to justice.”
And so, this finally put to an end
the tragic mystery of Sam’s lynch.
Finally, Louie Sam was a young
native who lived in an era where
First Nations were still seen as
an “inferior” group of society.
Because of those ideologies, injustice was made and took more
than a century before proper
measures were taken. Although
these ideologies are from the
19th century, today we still face
this injustice and discrimination.
How can we ever call this country
“our home and native land” when
we basically pushed off the natives that were here and claimed
their land as our own? We can
never change the past and undo
what we did. All we can do now is
learn from those experiences and
try to build a better future for all
of us.
AIM on knowledge
29
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