Canada
column for Sunday, Dec. 9/12
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THE CANADIAN REPORT
By
Jim Fox
A
case of sticker shock could ground the Canadian government’s controversial plan
to spend $25 billion to buy and maintain sophisticated F-35 fighter jets.
Opposition politicians are demanding that Defense Minister Peter MacKay
resign over skyrocketing costs for the jets and for not letting taxpayers know
the real price tag to buy and operate the planes.
The Royal Canadian Air Force wants to replace its CF-18 Hornets with 65
of the single-engine, radar-evading Lockheed Martin fighter jets.
Auditor General Michael Ferguson, in a scathing report last April,
concluded the jets could cost $10 billion more than the defense department has
publicly acknowledged due to cost overruns and production delays.
The government in the coming week is expected to release the results of
a study into the costs, with news reports suggesting the price tag will soar to
$40 billion.
As
well, a study is underway to compare the F-35 with other fighter jets including
Boeing’s F-18 Super Hornet and the EADS Eurofighter.
---
The Mercer Quality of Living Survey has again named Vancouver the top
Canadian city and fifth overall in the world.
The latest listing by the global consulting company keeps Vienna,
Zurich, Auckland and Munich as the top four places for the best quality of
life.
Canada’s
capital, Ottawa, ranked 14th, with Toronto 15th, Montreal, 23rd and Calgary at
32nd.
“Canadian
cities tend to do well because it measures things like political, social
environments, economic environment, medical and health,” said Luc Lalonde of
Mercer Canada.
Honolulu at 28 is the top U.S. city, followed by San Francisco (29), Boston
(35), Chicago (42), Washington, DC (43) and New York (44). Baghdad, Iraq was
last at 221.
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News
in brief:
-
Canada’s jobless rate dropped by 0.2 percent to 7.2 percent as the economy
created 59,300 new jobs last month, Statistics Canada said. Employment gains
were in accommodation and food services, retail and wholesale trade, and
professional, scientific and technical jobs while manufacturing lost 20,000
workers.
-
Politician Justin Trudeau, who is seeking to lead the federal Liberal party,
said he has no plans to raise the five-percent federal Goods and Services Tax.
As well, Trudeau said it is his goal to find a way to reduce gun crime without
reviving the long-gun registry.
-
A military jury in Calgary has found Major Darryl Watts not guilty of manslaughter
in an Afghanistan training accident that killed one soldier and injured four
others. He was convicted, however, of causing bodily harm and negligent
performance of military duty in the death of Corporal Josh Baker during a
training exercise. Watts will be sentenced next month.
---
Facts and figures:
Good
employment news on Friday lifted Canada’s dollar to $1.0103 in U.S. funds while
the U.S. dollar returned 98.97 cents Canadian, before bank exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada has again left its key interest rate at 1 percent
while the prime-lending rate is 3 percent.
Stock
markets are lower, with the Toronto exchange index at 12,168 points and the TSX
Venture index 1,182 points.
Lotto 6-49: (Dec. 5) 4, 26, 34, 38, 41 and 46; bonus 44. (Dec. 1) 7, 22,
28, 32, 34 and 38; bonus 20. Lotto Max: (Nov. 30) 3, 10, 13, 23, 31, 41 and 45;
bonus 33.
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Regional briefs:
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Another Montreal-area mayor has resigned after being arrested for alleged involvement
in construction industry kickbacks. Richard Marcotte, 65, of Mascouche was
arrested for fraud, conspiracy, bribery and embezzlement. Denying any
wrongdoing, Gerald Tremblay quit as mayor of Montreal and Gilles Vaillancourt left
his job as mayor of Laval last month.
-
A bid by the government of Newfoundland and Labrador to force bankrupt
newsprint company AbitibiBowater Inc. to pay for an environmental cleanup has
been denied by the Supreme Court of Canada . The government wanted the company
to clean up five contaminated sites at an estimated cost of $50 million to $100
million.
-
There were no murders last year in Prince George, a British Columbia community
of 75,000 people, yet national newsmagazine Maclean’s lists it as the most
dangerous city in Canada for the third consecutive year. Mayor Shari Green and
Mountie Superintendent Eric Stubbs are puzzled by the ranking that followed a
drop in serious crime last year. The rankings and methodology will be published
later this month.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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