Canada
column for Sunday, Aug. 12/12
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THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By
Jim Fox
Science, not politics, will decide the fate of a proposed $6-billion twin
pipeline to deliver oil to a British Columbia port for shipment to Asia, Prime
Minister Stephen Harper said.
Canada is looking to supply China and Asian countries with some its vast
oil reserves now that the U.S. administration has rejected a proposed pipeline
to move Alberta crude to Texas refineries.
The Northern Gateway project would have two pipelines transport Alberta
oil sands bitumen about 700 miles to a tanker terminal on the west coast near
Kitimat.
Scientific
environmental reviews are underway with a deadline of Dec. 31 next year for the
assessment to be complete.
The pipeline is “obviously in the vital interests of Canada,” Harper
said.
The future is “going to be based on commerce with the Asia-Pacific
region,” he added.
Environmentalists and aboriginal groups are opposed to the plan while
British Columbia Premier Christy Clark wants strict environmental protections and
a greater share of royalties for the province.
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The number of reported crimes in Canada is at the lowest level since
1972, Statistics Canada said.
Fewer
crimes were reported to police last year than at any other time in the last 40
years, the government agency reported.
“Since peaking in 1991, the crime rate has generally been decreasing,”
although there were increases in homicides, sexual offences against children,
impaired driving and drug offenses, it said.
There
were 598 murders, an increase of 44, last year in the country of about 35-million
people.
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News
in brief:
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The student protest movement in Quebec is preparing to form picket lines to prevent
the reopening of universities this month. Hardcore activists say they will
receive help from students in other provinces and the U.S. as they fight the
provincial government over plans to raise tuition fees. Riot police broke up a protest
by 200 students Wednesday in Montreal.
-
Canada's financial situation is improving as the federal budget deficit was cut
in half in April and May. The deficit was $832 million compared with $2 billion
a year ago, aided by higher revenues, continued economic growth and low
borrowing costs.
-
An off-duty Michigan police officer has complained to the Herald newspaper in
Calgary that he was unable to carry his handgun while visiting the city due to
Canada’s strict laws. Walt Wawra of Kalamazoo said two men approached him and
his wife in a “menacing manner” in a park but there was no trouble. Wawra, who
has been mocked on social media over his comments, said everyone should have
the right to protect themselves with a gun.
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Facts and figures:
Canada’s jobless rate edged .01 percent higher in July to 7.3 percent
with the “surprising” loss of 30,400 jobs while average wages rose 3.6 percent
from a year ago.
The
Canadian dollar remains higher at $1.0083 U.S. while the greenback is worth 99.17
cents Canadian.
The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate is unchanged at 1 percent while
the prime-lending rate is 3 percent.
Stock
markets are higher, with the Toronto exchange index at 11,855 points and the
TSX Venture index 1,193 points.
Lotto
6-49: (Aug. 8) 6, 8, 18, 20, 40 and 42; bonus 36. (Aug. 4) 3, 8, 23, 25, 29 and
47; bonus 32. Lotto Max: (Aug. 3) 1, 2, 18, 26, 27, 39 and 42; bonus 33.
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Regional briefs:
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Polls show the separatist Parti Quebecois could win a slim majority in the
Sept. 4 Quebec election. The Forum Research poll suggests Premier Jean
Charest’s Liberals could lose eight members with 46 elected. The Coalition
Avenir Quebec party could elect 13 members aided by star candidate, former
Montreal police chief Jacques Duchesneau.
-
Demands by the Ontario government to force school teachers to accept a two-year
wage freeze could lead to a fall election. Premier Dalton McGuinty threatened
to recall the legislature to impose a new contract if an agreement isn’t
reached by Sept. 1. Should the minority government’s bill be defeated by the
opposition parties, it would force an election.
- Kavna,
Vancouver Aquarium’s matriarch beluga, which was the inspiration of Raffi
Cavoukian’s popular children’s song Baby Beluga, has died. The white whale that was about 50 years old had been
in declining health. She was captured in the wild near Churchill, Manitoba in 1976.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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