Parents across Canada who scrimp to send their children to private schools, expecting they'll get a better education than in oft-maligned public schools, might want to reconsider, at least when it comes to science instruction.

A new study of students who graduated from Metro Vancouver high schools found those who came from public schools outperformed students who'd attended private schools, as well as those who hailed from school districts in more remote parts of British Columbia, the Globe and Mail reports.

The study, published in the April 19 edition of the International Journal of Science Education, reviewed the academic performance in physics and calculus of more than 4,500 students in a first-year physics class at the University of British Columbia between 2002 and 2006, the Globe noted.

"Our study shows that, with respect to physics and mathematics, B.C. public schools are more effective than B.C. independent schools in preparing students for success at university," the authors

Three years ago, an elderly widow named Stella Wasiuk took a nasty spill and was admitted to St. John's Rehabilitation Centre in Toronto.

During her time at the centre, the 83-year-old met Pauline Reid after the personal support worker was put in charge of Wasiuk's recovery.

Within several months, as the Toronto Star reports, Wasiuk had moved in with Reid and her family in their rented Scarborough home.

What happened next has resulted in a lawsuit filed by Wasiuk against Reid alleging "unconscionable exploitation" and demanding the restitution of $477,000 that the senior claims was taken from her for the purchase of an Ajax, Ont., home.

The lawsuit accuses the 52-year-old of taking advantage of her status as primary caregiver to convince Wasiuk to buy the house and in addition, lend her sums totaling $28,000 in exchange for Reid's caregiving services.

Wasiuk's suit claims Reid convinced her to sell her Markham condo and use the proceeds to buy her caregiver a house.

An agreement

As climate change reduces the ice cover in Arctic waters, scientists want a moratorium on commercial fishing in the region until more research on its impact can be done.

A group of more than 2,000 scientists from 67 countries called for the ban, saying the loss of permanent sea ice has opened up as much as 40 per cent of the Central Arctic Ocean in recent summers, making industrial fishing viable for the first time, The Canadian Press reports.

Data needs to be gathered before sustainable fishing quotas can be set, the scientists said in an open letter released Sunday by the Pew Environment Group.

"The ability to fish is not the same as having the scientific information and management regimes needed for a well-managed fishery," the scientists said in the letter, released on Earth Day.

"In the absence of this scientific data and a robust management system, depletion of fishery resources and damage to other components of the ecosystem are likely to result if fisheries commence."

Most of

Saskatoon Mayor Don Atchison.Ashu Solo's threat to complain to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission over a prayer at a civic banquet has some people scratching their heads.

Solo, who sits on the City of Saskatoon's cultural diversity and race relations committee, was upset after city Councillor Randy Donauer invoked Jesus as he blessed the food at a dinner honouring volunteers like Solo and ended the prayer with an amen.

"It made me feel like a second-class citizen. It makes you feel excluded," Solo told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.

"It's ironic that I've now become a victim of religious bigotry and discrimination at this banquet that was supposed to be an appreciation banquet for the service of volunteers like me."

Here's the head-scratching part: Solo wasn't so much miffed about the use of a Christian prayer.

He's an atheist and he's upset there was any kind of prayer at all.

In an email to Saskatoon Mayor Don Atchison, later distributed to other council mayors, Solo wrote the inclusion of a Christian prayer

It's Earth Day and Canada's environmental policies are under scrutiny. Just in time, Ontario and Quebec were promised snow — lots of it — in mid-April. Every now and then, the white stuff hits Alberta smack in the middle of summer. But for Central Canada, the forecast came as a shock. The article became one of the most read by the end of the week. With that in mind, here's a list of prominent Canadian climate change deniers. If only we could find proof, like snow in April, that global warming exists, right?

In New Zealand, a woman who drank more than 30 cups of Coca-Cola per day had died. Recently, the experts concluded that this habit contributed to her death. It's one of the most-shared stories this week. Find more here.

If that doesn't make you question fast-food eating, here's the week's most popular video. A Sydney judge has found KFC liable for brain damage of a girl. Watch more below.

In Canadian politics, a major race is about to reach a finish line. Check out reasons why

City of Montreal, Radio Canada photoVisit any major Canadian city and you're guaranteed to find a fantastic independent music scene. For every Arcade Fire, there are dozens of other terrific bands that, guitars and mics in hand, help make up the cultural fabric of the country.

But according to scientific (yes, scientific) research compiled by the Clique Research Cluster in Ireland, some indie towns are more equal than others. And based on statistics that map "geographic distribution of musical preferences," the researchers found that Montreal is even more influential than New York when it comes to indie music appreciation.

As Open File Montreal reports, two scientists gathered data by looking at the listening habits of users on a popular music website.

In their paper's abstract, the authors wrote:

"The social media website last.fm provides a detailed snapshot of what its users in hundreds of cities listen to each week… [A]lthough many of the most popular artists are listened to around the world, music preferences are

The Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library. Douglas Williams/The Canadian PressNew York-based online cultural guide Flavorpill has compiled a list of the world's 25 most beautiful public libraries and Vancouver's Central Public Library has impressed the jury all the way up to the number two spot.

Open File Vancouver (via Price Tags) caught the accolade and helped the story go viral, where it has been re-posted more than 15,000 times via social networking sites such as Facebook. Not bad for a list about places to read real, tangible books.

Flavorpill explained its initiative as a desire to honour public libraries (as opposed to college or private libraries), as they are places where "anyone can enter and partake of knowledge they offer, where anyone can engage with history, literature and culture." Though they noted the books are of supreme importance, the culture lovers wanted to draw attention to the beautiful spaces that house and protect our literary classics.

Tourist hotspots — like the Vatican library — and destinations that double as museums were taken out

Michelin's business is making tires but its recent safety survey took a detour off the road and produced some intriguing information on how Canadians view safety in the home and workplace as well.

The Michelin Canada Safety Survey, conducted by polling firm Angus Reid, found four out of five Canadians did not think of improving safety.

"This complacency is alarming given that well over 50 per cent of Canadians don't believe they are very prepared when it comes to safety at home and workplaces," Michelin Canada said in a news release.

"As for safety on the road, there is more cause for concern. A whopping 63 per cent of Canadians say they don't feel safe in their car. Yet 84 per cent of the population does not often think of improving vehicle safety."

According to Michelin, 81 per cent of Canadians surveyed said they did not feel safe in their homes and only 44 per cent said they were very prepared when it came to home safety. Outside the home, 67 per cent of respondents said they felt