Canada
column for Sunday, June 10/12
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THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By
Jim Fox
“Go back to school,” Canadian racing legend Jacques Villeneuve told
protesting Quebec students trying to disrupt this weekend’s Grand Prix in
Montreal.
The Formula 1 races that attract 300,000 people and up to $90 million in
revenues to Montreal are a target for the coalition of radical students opposing
university tuition-fee increases.
Police clashed with protesters – in their fourth month of a strike and now-daily
rallies – trying to disrupt the opening Grand Prix red-carpet event when 37
people were arrested.
Villeneuve
told reporters the student movement has been damaging to Quebec society and
“makes no sense.”
Student protesters, now joined by those opposed to the “practices of
global capitalism,” want people to jam the subway line going to the island in the
St. Lawrence River where the big race is held on Sunday.
One event was cancelled earlier
– an open house in the pit area to view the cars and meet with drivers and
mechanics.
“When you attack the
Grand Prix, you're not attacking the Government of Quebec but all Quebecers,” Premier
Jean Charest said, appealing for calm.
The government wants to raise
tuition fees from the lowest in Canada by about $254 a year over seven years to
$3,800 a year.
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Canada’s central bank continues to caution that interest rates will someday
start rising, but not right now.
The
Bank of Canada softened its hawkish language after deterioration in global
financial conditions in Europe while keeping its key rate at 1 percent.
After saying last month a “modest increase” might be coming by fall, the
bank now says when conditions are right, “some modest withdrawal of the present
considerable monetary policy stimulus may become appropriate.”
The bank noted that momentum in the Canadian economy continues largely
on track, the global growth outlook has weakened.
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News in brief:
-
A shooting involving gang members left one man dead and seven injured at a
crowded food court at the Toronto Eaton Center. Christopher Husbands, 23, was
arrested for murder and six counts of attempted murder. Ahmed Hassan, 24, died
of gunshot wounds, while another man with him was wounded. A 13-year-old boy
was also shot in the head by a stray bullet and is recovering in a hospital.
- An Ontario court
has ruled the law requiring trucks to have speed limiters is unconstitutional.
Justice of the Peace Brett Kelly said the devices limiting trucks to 65 mph jeopardizes
the safety of truckers and other drivers. “Inability to accelerate, or not
accelerate, fully places a driver in a less-than-safe situation,” Kelly said.
An appeal is being considered by the Ontario government.
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Facts and figures:
The Canadian unemployment rate remained steady last month at 7.3 percent
as the economy added only 7,700 jobs compared with 140,000 in March and April.
Canada’s
dollar gained to 97.22 cents in U.S. funds Friday while the U.S. dollar was
worth $1.0285 Canadian, before bank exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate remains at 1 percent while the
prime-lending rate is 3 percent.
Stock
markets are higher, with the Toronto exchange index at 11,542 points and the
TSX Venture index 1,290 points.
Lotto
6-49: (June 6) 8, 21, 22, 26, 30 and 39; bonus 7. (June 2) 7, 22, 27, 29,33 and
39; bonus 40. Lotto Max: (June 1) 4, 7, 13, 24, 26, 27 and 43; bonus 41.
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Regional briefs:
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There’s a “major environmental concern” near Sundre, Alberta after up to 125,000
gallons of crude oil spilled from a pipeline into a tributary of the Red Deer
River. Plains Midstream Canada shut its network of pipelines in the pristine
wilderness area after discovering the spill. The company is still cleaning up a
spill of 1.02-million litres of oil last year near
Peace River, Alberta.
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In a surprise move, Toronto city council has voted to ban plastic bags given
out at stores effective Jan. 1. Council had been debating ending the five-cent bag
fee, to happen July 1, when by a 24-20 vote decided to prohibit stores from
providing customers with any single-use plastic bags in an environmental move.
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Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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