Submitted by Suzanne Wilson

About/Bio: I am one of the parents left without daycare during the municipal workers strike.

My take: Let me begin by saying that the level of care my son receives at his city-run daycare is fantastic and if it were up to me, all of his (highly skilled) teachers and care workers would earn twice what they do now.

However, this strike is potentially devastating to many parents.

At least 17 people have been killed in near-daily demonstrations in Iran, including one that drew hundreds of thousands of protesters.

Defeated moderate candidate Mehdi Karoubi called on Iranians to hold mourning ceremonies on Thursday for those who have been killed in the protests.

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Demonstrators gathered at the Vancouver Art Gallery on Sunday, June 21 to show support for protesters in Iran who continue to challenge the country's recent election results.

Check out photos from the vigil below. Submitted by Devon Rowcliffe.

Submitted by Mahmoud

About/Bio:I am from Esfahan, Iran.

My take: I took part in a protest on June 15, 2009 against Iran's presidential election that put Mahmoud Ahmadinejad back into power. We want to say NO to him and his government. This is not what people want. They changed the result of the election to make Ahmadinejad the president.

Submitted by Alagan Elavalagan

About/Bio: An Engineer graduated from Carleton University working in the telecom industry. Currently, the Manager of Quality Assurance for a VoIP company. Also, the creator of the mathematical board game BEDMAS.

My take: Innocent investors have trusted our political, legal and regulatory protections and in return have been investing their life savings in publicly traded corporations such as Nortel Networks. Once again the system has failed us. It is time for us to examine why the ordinary investors are robbed again and again even in a first-world country like Canada. Bre-X wasn't the first and Nortel won't be the last unless we change it.

Submitted by Sarvenaz Amanat

About/Bio: I am the daughter of Hossein Amanat, the architect of the Freedom Monument in Tehran.

My take: As I sit here watching all the news about the protests and situation in Iran, I feel compelled to tell the story of my family.

My father, Hossein Amanat, the architect of the Freedom Monument in Tehran, has been a Vancouver resident for the past 30 years. As a young graduate, he won a nationwide competition for its design, and since that time, the Freedom Monument has become a symbol of modern Iran. It is also the venue for the protests and demonstrations that are currently taking place.

Hundreds of Iranian-Canadians gathered in Toronto's Mel Lastman square on Monday, June 15 to protest the re-election of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Toronto resident Shab S. sent in this video of the gathering.

Submitted by Sara H.

About/Bio: I am a 27-year-old Iranian-Calgarian who was born and raised in Tehran. I came to Canada in 2005 to study psychology at the University of Calgary. All my family and friends are in Iran and that is why I still have close contacts with Iran. I also visit there almost every year, which helps me get an idea of how things are back there.

My take: As you may know, there was a presidential election on Friday, June 12 and now there is unrest in many parts of Iran. Right now, cell phone networks are down in many parts of Iran. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and many news websites are all blocked. The speed of the internet is really slow and some of my friends back in Iran cannot even check their emails.

There have been deadly clashes in the streets since Saturday and people are being beaten up by the riot police and members of a militia group called Basij (also known as Revolutionary Guards) mercilessly. You might think that this is a domestic issue, but if you believe in democracy, if you think that human beings are of one essence, if you believe in human rights, then please do not remain indifferent about the people of Iran.

Submitted by Christopher Clarke

About/Bio: Christopher Clarke is a journalism student living in Belleville, Ontario.

My take: UPDATE: On Friday June 12, 2009, the blockade of the Skyway Bridge ended. As was widely reported, the Tyendinaga Mohawk Police Service, with assistance from the Ontario Provincial Police, confronted the protesters around 6:30 am, which resulted in a number of injuries to both protesters and police. The police received minor wounds, and the protesters suffered more serious ones, and an elderly protester was reported to be in critical condition, though was released later the same day.

Submitted by Vicki Leversedge

About/Bio: I was born and raised in Prince Edward County as a farm girl, and plan to remain here always.

My take: I want to know why the Mohawk Warriors are allowed to get away with the unlawful blockade of the Skyway Bridge. The OPP have cordoned off the area, and their response to this situation is that it could take "10 minutes or ten days. Who knows?"

This does not satisfy me in the slightest.

Submitted by Dean Glover

This Citizen Byte is in reponse to Alberta's decision to allow parents to pull kids out of class where lessons on sex, religion or sexual orientation are taught. Read more

About: I'm a part-time college instructor in Etobicoke, Ont.

My take: Why is it in a country that promotes multiculturalism and makes a virtue out of the importance of democratic rights and responsibilities, that there is popular support for an idea that goes so far to legislate behaviour in such a way as to the detriment of all of the previously mentioned values?

Submitted by Blair Watson

About: I am a freelance aviation journalist based in Kelowna, B.C. I have an airline transport pilot license with more than 4,000 hours of flying experience.

My take: I have one possible explanation for the disappearance of Air France Flight 447. It involves Clear Air Turbulence, something not mentioned in media reports on CBC. CAT, according to Wikipedia, is the "erratic movement of air masses in the absence of any visual cues, such as clouds. Clear air turbulence is caused when bodies of air moving at widely different speeds meet. At high altitudes (7,000-12,000 metres) this is frequently encountered around jet streams or sometimes near mountain ranges. Clear air turbulence is impossible to detect either with the naked eye or with conventional radar, meaning that it is difficult to avoid."