Monorail
Fifteen years ago a team of Hydro-Québec researchers, led by well-known physicist Pierre Couture, unveiled an electric motor wheel that was said to represent the future of green transportation. The team disbanded the following year, and Hydro-Québec let the research lapse. Couture has virtually refused to discuss the project ever since he left his post.

Now, a group called TrensQuébec wants to revive the technology in the form of a suspended monorail that would challenge the supremacy of high-speed rail in the minds of Quebecers. Led by former Bloc Québécois MP Jean-Paul Marchand, TrensQuébec believe Couture’s electric wheel represents a 21^st century solution to climate change and a depleting supply of fossil fuels. The system could conceivably deliver passengers from Montreal to Quebec at 250 kilometres per hour, making use of existing highway medians and bridges.

Proponents also say the monorail would be cheaper to build than high-speed rail. Still, Hydro-Québec and the provincial government have yet to give their support after the research program’s controversial end in 1995.

Join CPAC’s Danielle Young for a closer examination, including interviews with the key players and a 3-D rendering of the monorail flying through the Quebec countryside.

British Columbia's Tax Revolt
The B.C. Liberals are facing their biggest political crisis since first coming to power in 2001. Tens of thousands of British Columbians have signed a petition against the harmonized sales tax. Under B.C.'s initiative and recall legislation, the petition may trigger a referendum on the tax or force the government to hold another vote in the legislature on the HST. The "tax revolt" has found unprecedented support among British Columbians, and brought together disparate political groups. It's led by Bill Vander Zalm, a former premier who left office under a cloud. Separate clouds are now forming over current Premier Gordon Campbell. Much of the HST's unpopularity can be traced back to a promise made by Campbell during the last election to not implement the tax. Many British Columbians believe Campbell deceived them and his popularity has slipped significantly, even among his traditional base. There is now talk of recalling some Liberal MLA's in close ridings and perhaps forcing an election, but the most likely casualty of the HST will be Campbell. The rollout of the new tax has been a communications disaster, and there are increasing suggestions Campbell will take the heat for the GST and retire. Meanwhile, the opposition New Democrats are biding their time, doing all they can to turn a tax revolt into a anti-liberal revolt. And at this point almost no one is listening to the economists and industry leaders who say the HST is actually a better way to collect tax. Ed Watson gives us the story from British Columbia.

The Hunt for Investigator: History and Canada's Claim on the Arctic

HMS Investigator was searching for the Northwest Passage and the missing Franklin expedition when she sank 155 years ago. The ship's historic importance, plus Canada's renewed focus on Arctic sovereignty, led to a Parks Canada archaeological mission that made worldwide headlines in July 2010 after finding the sunken wreck off Banks Island in the Northwest Territories. National Post columnist, Don Martin and CPAC's documentary crew were given exclusive access as they and Environment Minister Jim Prentice joined the expedition at Mercy Bay, recording breathtaking panoramas from the land, sea and air along the way. | More

The air we breathe is under assault. And it's a global problem. Did you know that Canadian scientists can determine that a particle of pollution found in Canada originated in Australia or China? Every day in Canada, 40 people die prematurely from illnesses related to air pollution. Canadian scientists are on the cutting-edge research to determine what's in the air we breathe and what effect it has on us. Join videographer Bill Luxton as he travels the breadth of the country examining the work of some of Canada's leading atmosphere scientists and how their findings could influence the national debate over climate change and air pollution.

CPAC presents One Incredible Year, an unprecedented TV event that documents the tumult and triumph of 12 months that changed the nation. One Incredible Year reveals the impact of total war on families in 1917 and the crusade to victory that built a modern Canada. Produced by veteran journalist Holly Doan and featuring lively interviews and extraordinary archival films never before seen on television, the hour-long documentary recaptures the intense wartime fervor that inspired sweeping political reforms, from income tax and votes for women to prohibition and Daylight Saving Time.

Ottawa's Rideau Canal is an avenue of water cut through the wilderness; a ribbon of tranquility that links the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean and the world beyond.

In celebration of its designation as an official World Heritage Site which puts it among the ranks of the Great Wall of China and the Egyptian Pyramids, CPAC presents the story of Canada’s historic Rideau Canal. It is protected as a national treasure by the Canadian government, but few Canadians know its story. The Rideau Canal was built for war. Its construction was marked by calamity that destroyed many lives and ruined the man who built it. In the first historical documentary ever produced about the Rideau Canal, award-winning journalist Holly Doan tells a story of ambition and hardship, of struggle and achievement; the story of Canada.

Order your copy of "The Rideau Canal" on dvd!

In a television first, "White Canada" documents the dramatic 1955 Supreme Court battle that exposed a 20^th century scandal. The hour-long CPAC documentary special features rare films and first-ever interviews with surviving participants in the landmark case that shamed the nation. It is the story of a David-and-Goliath challenge to overturn a whites-only federal immigration law, and the startling outcome of the case.

In a television first, CPAC's The Big Bank Job reveals the untold story of money and politics that burst the bubble of the Roaring Twenties: the Home Bank crash of 1923. Produced by veteran journalist Holly Doan, the documentary features rare interviews and rich archival material unseen in more than 80 years. The Big Bank Job recounts a scandal that so shocked the nation that it changed our financial way of life and led to the creation of the Bank of Canada.

The Arctic is in a state of meltdown. Sea ice cover is disappearing at an alarming rate- a situation which has far reaching implications for global climate change and Canadian claims of sovereignty over the Northwest Passage. Glaciers from BC to Greenland are also melting away, threatening the future supply of fresh water to lakes and streams.

Canadian scientists are taking a leadership role in International Polar Year as they and thousands of researchers from more than 60 countries work to unravel the processes involved in climate change. Videographer Bill Luxton takes us on a tour from the high Arctic, to the west, to central Canada to examine the cutting-edge work of Canadian scientists as they strive to reveal present climate conditions and predict what may be in-store for the future.

Please note that regularly scheduled programming may be pre-empted due to live CPAC programming. Please check listings for rebroadcast dates and times.