Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays/Season’s
Greetings
Canada
column for Sunday, Dec. 23/12
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THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By
Jim Fox
Two
of the 26 people killed in the Newtown, Conn. elementary school shooting had
links to Canada.
Ana Marquez-Greene, 6, lived most of her young life in Winnipeg while
the father of teacher Lauren Rousseau, 30, was born in Quebec.
“The thoughts and prayers of Canadians are with the students and
families affected by this senseless violence,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper
said.
A candlelight
vigil was held outside of the University of Winnipeg to honor Ana who moved to
Connecticut last summer.
“As much as she’s needed here and missed by her mother, brother and me,
Ana beat us all to paradise,” said her father, jazz musician Jimmy Greene.
He
left his job at the Manitoba university to return to his home state to teach at
Western Connecticut State University.
Rousseau’s
relatives in Quebec were grieving while denouncing U.S. gun laws.
“It's revolting how easy it is to obtain firearms – that's what's so
infuriating,” said victim's uncle, Francois Rousseau.
Her father, Gilles Rousseau, said he was advised not to view his
daughter’s body and was told the gunshots were so powerful they blasted through
a wall and into her car outside.
The incident has prompted a review of security at Canadian schools, with
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty saying his government will spend $10 million to
equip schools to begin a “locked-door” policy by next September.
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While the weather outside might be getting frightful with the arrival of
winter, Environment Canada says this year was a hot, hot, hot one.
“Winter was cancelled and summer seemed to go on very long to be one of
the hottest on record,” said senior climatologist David Phillips.
January through November was the fourth warmest since 1948 and July
through September was the hottest in 65 years.
Also
noted was the highly active hurricane season with the remnants of Hurricane Sandy
causing two deaths and $100 million in property damage.
There
was also British Columbia’s massive flooding that swept away bridges, damaged roads
and triggered a landslide near Johnson’s Landing killing four people.
Other
major weather events were a damaging hailstorm in Calgary and flooding caused
by an ice jam on New Brunswick’s St. John River.
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News
in brief:
-
A penny saved is a penny earned but Canada’s move to end production of the
lowly coin could cost $38.3 million, the Finance Department said. That is to
cover the costs of redeeming existing pennies and operational costs to
eliminate them. Canada will no longer distribute pennies after March 4 to save
about $11 million annually in production costs.
-
Canada will see job cuts as General Motors moves the production of it sporty
Camaro to Lansing, Mich. from Oshawa, Ontario. GM said the move for the 2015
model year is due to “lower capital investment and improved production
efficiencies.” UAW officials said it could result in the loss of 2,000 jobs at
the plant that also builds the Buick Regal and Cadillac XTS.
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Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar is lower at $1.0065 in U.S. funds while the U.S. dollar
returns 99.35 cents Canadian, before bank exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate is steady at 1 percent while the
prime-lending rate is 3 percent.
Stock
markets are higher, with the Toronto exchange index at 12,409 points and the
TSX Venture index at 1,179 points on Friday.
Lotto 6-49: (Dec. 19) 1, 13, 16, 30, 33 and 48; bonus 49. (Dec. 15) 11,
22, 36, 37, 43 and 48; bonus 7. Lotto Max: (Dec. 14) 3, 6, 10, 33, 39, 48 and
49; bonus 18.
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Regional briefs:
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Officials of Cypress Mountain ski area in West Vancouver say they plan to bill a
“reckless” snowboarder $10,000 to cover the cost of his rescue. “I feel so bad
for the rescuers and the army risking their lives trying to save me,” said
Sebastien Boucher, 33. He was lost for three days after going in a dangerous
out-of-bounds area.
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Power was cut to thousands of people by snowstorms and freezing rain. A storm
on Wednesday blanketed parts of Quebec and southern New Brunswick with up to 20
inches of snow. On Monday, several people were injured in a 40-vehicle pileup
on icy Highway 40, west of Quebec City.
- About
seven inches of heavy wet snow fell in Vancouver and area on Wednesday, cutting
power to 10,000 customers in the Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast and Vancouver
Island and snarling traffic.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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