Canada
column for Sunday, May 5/13
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THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By
Jim Fox
Canadian
“snowbirds” could be able to spend more time – up to eight months from six months
now annually – in the sunny south if a provision in the U.S. Senate’s bipartisan
immigration reform becomes law.
Bill sponsor Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York
also wants to make it easier for Canadians owning at least $500,000 in U.S. property
to live year-round in America with a non-immigrant retiree visa.
The proposed Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration
Modernization Act said the changes would encourage Canadian tourism and increase
economic growth.
With the hundreds of thousands of Canadians spending extended periods in
Florida, Arizona, California and Texas every year, it would be a boon to those
economies.
The Canadian Snowbirds Association, with 700,000 members, has been
lobbying for the changes as the maximum limit for stays now without a visa is
180 days in a 12-month period, said president Bob Slack.
Canadians who return home after six months away are unable to take
further trips across the border in that one-year period.
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The Canadian government is reversing controversial changes it made last
year to the temporary foreign workers program.
The changes follow a public outcry when it was learned the Royal Bank was
going to replace laid off information technology employees with lower-paid
workers from India.
Employers
will no longer have flexibility to set the wages for foreign labor and the
government will curtail a program that allowed some companies to fast-track
workers from outside Canada.
Last year, 213,516 people entered Canada under the temporary foreign
worker program, more than triple that of a decade ago.
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News in brief:
-
Proposed new border fees from the U.S. Department of Agriculture are “another
protectionist measure,” said International Trade Minister Ed Fast. The fees
would recover money spent for inspection programs. A better way to drive economic
growth would be to free-up trade, not create “new barriers at the border,” he said.
- In a move that Vice Admiral Paul Maddison said
is important for naval heritage, the Royal Canadian Navy is getting a new
ensign. The white flag with the Canadian Maple Leaf flag in the top corner and
a blue navy badge in the outer half will fly from the mast of warships at sea. The
regular Maple Leaf flag will switch from the ship’s bow when it is tied up at a
dock or buoy.
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Facts and figures:
The
Canadian dollar is higher at 99.18 cents U.S. while the U.S. greenback returns $1.0082
in Canadian funds, 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 were higher Friday, with the Toronto exchange index at 12,474 points and
the TSX Venture index 966 points.
Lotto 6-49: (May 1) 1, 2, 32, 33, 38 and 49; bonus 42. (April 27) 9, 28,
35, 36, 48 and 49; bonus 6. Lotto Max: (April 26) 10, 13, 15, 18, 25, 36 and
47; bonus 40.
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Regional briefs:
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The minority Liberal Ontario government included demands of the socialist New
Democrats in its budget to prevent being voted out of office. They include a 15-percent
average cut in vehicle insurance rates and delaying or eliminating some
corporate tax breaks. Should the New Democrats and Conservatives vote against the
budget bill, the government would fall and an election would be required.
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The ruling British Columbia Liberals are narrowing the gap ahead of the May 14
provincial election. Premier Christy Clark’s Liberals have soared from 20
points behind the New Democrats. Two recent polls show the Liberals trailing
the New Democrats 39-35 percent. The previous government had 45 Liberals, 36
New Democrats and four independents.
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An increase in the number of drunken passengers has led taxi drivers in
Woodstock, Ontario to propose a $120 fee for anyone who vomits or leaves bodily
fluids in cabs. In lobbying city council to add the charge, drivers said it’s a
bio hazard and the affected cabs must be taken off the road and professionally
cleaned.
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Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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