Canada
column for Sunday, March 17/13
---
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By
Jim Fox
Justin Trudeau’s dream to one day succeed his late father, Pierre, as
Canada’s prime minister appears to be moving a step closer.
Montreal Member of Parliament (MP) Marc Garneau has dropped out of the Liberal
leadership race to support Trudeau, 41, saying the outcome of the April 14 vote
was “a fait accompli.”
The
former astronaut said a poll conducted by his campaign showed Trudeau with the
endorsement of 72 percent of Liberals.
Calling Trudeau the “overwhelming favorite,” Garneau was second with 15
percent support followed by Vancouver MP Joyce Murray at 7.4 percent and former
Toronto MP Martha Hall Findlay with 5.2 percent.
Garneau’s
departure was a surprise to many as he said earlier a “coronation” of Trudeau
was not in the party’s best interests.
He
also suggested that Trudeau lacked leadership credentials, experience and
policy depth.
Calling it “constructive” criticism, Garneau now says Trudeau has “risen
to the occasion” and proved an unmatched ability to rally people to the party
that dropped to third place in the Commons in the last election.
Also in the race are David Bertschi, Martin Cauchon, Deborah Coyne and
Karen McCrimmon.
---
A
review into the “ethnic voter” controversy in British Columbia has found “serious
misuse” of government resources by Premier Christy Clark’s government.
The investigation by Clark’s Deputy Minister John Dyble found the line
between working for the government and the governing Liberal party was clearly crossed
in an effort to win ethnic votes in the upcoming May election.
Dyble
called for disciplinary and corrective action against those involved in the
plan to woo the voters as outlined in a leaked document.
The scandal has already led to the resignations of Clark’s Deputy Chief
of Staff Kim Haakstad, Multiculturalism Minister John Yap and another
unidentified person.
---
Names
in the news:
- Peter
Penashue has resigned as Federal Intergovernmental Affairs Minister over
ineligible donations he received in the 2011 election. The Labrador politician,
who was also president of the Privy Council, was accused of violating Elections
Canada rules accepting illegal contributions from corporations. Penashue said
he plans to seek re-election.
-
Quebec terrorist Paul Rose, who was convicted in 1971 in the murder and
kidnapping of then Labor Minister Pierre Laporte, has died at the age of 69.
Rose was a leader of the Front du liberation du Quebec as an activist for the
province’s independence from Canada and the promotion of French-language rights.
He was released from prison after serving 12 years for his involvement in the
murder.
-
Two police officers have been killed while on duty when their cruisers were
involved in collisions. Constable Jennifer Kovach, 26, of Guelph died after her
cruiser crashed into a bus on an icy street. Mountie Constable Adrian Oliver, 28,
of Surrey, British Columbia died in a crash with a transport truck.
---
Facts and figures:
Improved
employment prospects and higher oil prices helped to push the Canadian dollar
up to 98.06 cents U.S. on Friday. The U.S. greenback was worth $1.0197 in
Canadian funds, before bank exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada’s kept its key interest rate steady at 1 percent
while the prime-lending rate is 3 percent.
Stock
markets are mixed, with the Toronto exchange index up at 12,834 points and the
TSX Venture index down at 1,111 points.
Lotto 6-49: (March 13) 1, 4, 11, 16, 26 and 46; bonus 31. (March 9) 15,
18, 24, 28, 29 and 46; bonus 2. Lotto Max: (March 8) 9, 15, 17, 28, 35, 39 and
41; bonus 36.
---
Regional briefs:
-
Businessman Paul Magder will make another attempt to have Toronto Mayor Rob
Ford removed from office. Magder is asking the Supreme Court of Canada to
overturn an Ontario court ruling that allowed Ford to remain as mayor although being
involved in a conflict of interest by taking part in a vote in which he had a
financial interest.
-
The former anti-sealing vessel Farley Mowat has been sold at a sheriff’s sale
in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia as it faced $90,000 in unpaid berthing and electrical
fees to the province. The aging black vessel named after Mowat, an environmentalist
Canadian author, was seized by the Fisheries Department in 2008. It had gotten
too close to seal hunters near Cape Breton and collided with a Coast Guard
vessel.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment