Canada
column for Sunday, June 29/14
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By
Jim Fox
The cross-border travels of Canadians will come under additional
scrutiny beginning Monday.
It’s part of an expanded security plan by the Canada Border Services
Agency to include information-sharing on all travelers.
The
tracking system involves exchanging entry information collected at the Canada-U.S.
land borders so that data on entry to one country would serve as a record of
exit from the other.
This will allow the Canadian government to use the data for such things
as catching unemployment insurance cheats to ensuring people ineligible to stay
in Canada have left the country.
Canada also wants to begin collecting information on people leaving by
air, which is already done by the United States, by requiring airlines to
submit passenger manifest data for outbound international flights.
The
first two phases of the program were limited to foreign nationals and permanent
residents of Canada and the U.S., but not citizens of either country.
The
entry-exit initiative is a key element of the perimeter security deal intended
to help ease the passage of travelers and cargo across the Canada-U.S. border
while bolstering continental security.
---
Canada’s telecommunications agency is looking into new ways to detect
and track rogue telemarketers who operate outside of Canada.
Jean-Pierre
Blais, head of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission,
said its international partners are working to monitor communications flows to
find unscrupulous telemarketers.
“We
get the complaints of people who get harassed by, frankly, rude telemarketers,
illegal telemarketers – often from off-shore – that are trying to sell poor-quality
goods and services,” he said.
There
are 12 million phone numbers registered on the national do-not-call list and
the agency has imposed $4 million in fines since the telemarketing registry was
created six years ago.
---
News in brief:
-
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. is cutting up to 1,500 jobs, about one-quarter
of its workforce, over the next five years to counter a $130-million budget
shortfall. The money problems include federal funding cuts, reduced advertising
revenues and the loss of hockey rights to Rogers Media. Immediate plans are to
cut back evening newscasts and in-house productions to shift the focus to
digital and mobile services from radio and television.
-
Intense price competition in the grocery industry, largely from U.S.-based
retailers such as Walmart and Target, has prompted Sobeys to close about 50 of
its “underperforming” stores. Empire Co., the Nova Scotia parent company, will
also close some of the Safeway Canada stores it acquired last year and convert
other locations to lower-priced Food Basics outlets. Empire currently has about
1,500 stores nationally.
---
Facts and figures:
Canada’s
dollar is higher at 93.77 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.0663 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 unchanged at 3 percent.
Stock
markets are slightly lower, with the Toronto exchange index at 15,043 points and
the TSX Venture index 1,019 points.
The average price of a liter of gasoline in Canada is down at $1.3725 (Canadian).
Lotto 6-49: (June 25) 1, 10, 24, 28, 39 and 45; bonus 43. (June 21) 13,
20, 26, 27, 31 and 39; bonus 12. Lotto Max: (June 20) 12, 17, 32, 36, 43, 44
and 49; bonus 4.
---
Regional briefs:
-
A Supreme Court of Canada ruling recognizing a First Nation’s title to a tract
of land in British Columbia could help solve unresolved land claims. The
historic decision is expected to have implications for controversial energy
projects such as the Northern Gateway pipeline proposal.
- Elizabeth
Dowdeswell, a former undersecretary general of the United Nations, has been
named Ontario lieutenant-governor. Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the
appointment of Queen Elizabeth II’s next representative in the province. She
succeeds David Onley, who held the position for seven years.
-
The Alberta government is still dealing with more than 5,000 financial claims
after devastating floods in 30 communities a year ago. Municipal Affairs
Minister Greg Weadick said the extent of the damage, insurance issues,
flood-mitigation plans and appeals have slowed the process. Of the 10,486
claims, payments covering about half so far total $75 million.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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