Canada
column for Sunday, Sept. 2/12
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THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By
Jim Fox
The former manager of a British Columbia sled-dog tour company admitted
to brutally killing 56 of the animals no longer needed after the 2010 Winter
Olympics.
Robert Fawcett pleaded guilty to animal cruelty in the culling of the
dogs from the pack owned by Howling Dog Tours in Whistler.
He
will be sentenced Nov. 22 after the court considers a psychiatric assessment.
The incident became known last year after Fawcett filed a claim to
receive worker’s compensation for “post-traumatic stress disorder” over stress
from killing the animals.
The
British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals exhumed the
remains of the dogs from a mass grave as part of the investigation.
Marcie
Moriarty of the SPCA said the maximum penalty Fawcett faces is five years in
jail, a fine of up to $75,000 and a possible lifetime ban on owning animals.
Animal rights advocates gathered outside the courtroom in North
Vancouver urging that he receive the maximum penalty.
“We
want to have a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves,” said pet owner
Ingrid Katzberg.
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U.S. military-service resister Kimberly Rivera who has lived in Toronto
since 2007 is being deported.
Rivera, who lives with her husband and four children, two of whom were
born in Canada, had sought refugee status to remain and avoid further American military
service in Iraq.
The Canada Border Services Agency said it did not believe claims she
would face harsh penalties, denying her bid to stay.
The
War Resisters Support Campaign said two other Iraq war resisters who were deported
to the U.S. were given one-year jail terms by the military.
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News
in brief:
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The decision by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to give an opposition leader,
Jack Layton of the New Democrats, a state funeral cost $368,326, newly released
figures show. A Harris-Decima poll said more than 75 percent of Canadians said it
was appropriate to give such an honor – not normally done for party leaders –
to Layton a year ago.
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Four consumer groups have joined the movement to try to encourage federal
regulators to reject Bell Canada's proposed $3.4-billion takeover of Astral Media.
They say the deal would give Bell control of 38 percent of Canada’s television market
and 29 percent of radio stations, thereby removing competition from the
marketplace. A decision is expected next month.
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Facts and figures:
The Canadian dollar was higher Friday at $1.0141 in U.S. funds while the
U.S. dollar was valued at 98.60 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 lower, with the Toronto exchange index at 11,954 points and the TSX
Venture index 1,230 points.
Lotto
6-49: (Aug. 29) 3, 5, 8, 14, 24 and 34; bonus 38. (Aug. 25) 4, 12, 17, 18, 34
and 44; bonus 21. Lotto Max: (Aug. 24) 2, 3, 5, 22, 23, 32 and 33; bonus 8.
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Regional briefs:
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A newly married Quebec woman was swept to her death during a photo shoot in
Rawdon, north of Montreal. Married in June, Maria Pantazopoulos, 30, of Laval
was posing at the edge of the Ouareau River in her wedding gown for “trash the
dress” pictures. When her gown became waterlogged and heavy, she slipped from
the rocks and was pulled into the swiftly moving water and carried away.
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Alberta and Saskatchewan are among the best-performing labor markets in North
America, the public policy Fraser Institute said. It named the two western
Canadian provinces at the top followed by Manitoba at fifth place and British
Columbia seventh in a study of Canada and U.S. markets. With Quebec 11th
overall and Ontario 16th, they trail in “important areas such as private-sector
job creation and total employment growth,” report co-author Amela Karabegovic
said.
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There’s more backlash against Canadian visitors in U.S. border towns as some
restaurants in Burlington, Vermont have added surcharges for “stingy” diners
from Quebec. “Tipping is not just something you do in a canoe,” the menu says
at Ken’s Pizza, suggesting an 18-percent gratuity. Two other waterfront
restaurants also admitted adding an automatic surcharge to cover the tips for
“people from foreign countries.”
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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