Canada
column for Sunday, Aug. 24/14
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By
Jim Fox
Security for Canada’s political leaders is being reviewed after a
break-in at the Ottawa home of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau.
At
the time, Trudeau was in Winnipeg and his wife and their three children were
asleep upstairs at home.
The Mounties are conducting a “risk assessment” to determine whether
Trudeau needs a security detail as a result of the incident.
The intruder left a threatening letter atop several large kitchen
knives and other items taken outside advising them to consider locking their
doors.
“Honestly, we're a little bit shaken,” Trudeau said of the incident,
calling it a “wake-up call for us or at least a highlighting of some of the
real challenges that we face.”
Security protection is given only to the prime minister and governor
general and not to any of the other federal party leaders, except during
election campaigns.
Party
leaders, cabinet ministers, members of Parliament and federal justices
can be provided with police security if the public safety minister
determines there is a danger.
Former prime ministers are not given security protection as incidents
involving federal politicians are rare in Canada.
---
The Economist has named three Canadian cities among the top 10 places to
live in the world.
The magazine poll ranked Vancouver as the third most livable city
followed by Toronto while Calgary tied for fifth place with Adelaide,
Australia.
Melbourne,
Australia topped the list of 140 cities for the fourth year with Vienna, Austria
coming in second.
Rounding out the list were Sydney, Australia; Helsinki, Finland; Perth,
Australia; and Auckland, New Zealand while Damascus, Syria was ranked the least
livable city.
The
rankings are based on 30 factors including stability, health care, culture,
environment, education and infrastructure.
---
News in brief:
-
Canada's broadcast regulator has proposed major changes in television service
that would require cable and satellite providers to offer basic service
primarily of Canadian channels for $20 to $30 a month. The Canadian
Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission also wants a “pick-and-pay
structure” to allow a choice of individual channels along with basic service.
-
The cost-of-living index fell to 2.1 percent in July from 2.4 percent in June. Statistics
Canada also reported retail sales figures for June rose for the sixth month by
1.1 percent to $42.6 billion. General merchandise stores led the sales rise in
June, up 3.9 percent.
---
Facts and figures:
Canada’s
dollar is lower at 91.37 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.0944 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 higher, with the Toronto exchange index at 15,544 points and the
TSX Venture index at 1,001 points.
The average price of a liter of gasoline in Canada is down at $1.2942 (Canadian).
Lotto 6-49: (Aug. 20) 7, 8, 10, 20, 30 and 31; bonus 3. (Aug. 16) 9, 18,
41, 42, 48 and 49; bonus 10. Lotto Max: (Aug. 15) 9, 16, 17, 27, 32, 38 and 47;
bonus 37.
---
Regional briefs:
-
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has found fault with the railway
company and the federal government over the runaway oil tanker train that
killed 47 people in Lac-Megantic, Quebec. The board’s report on last year’s
disaster that leveled part of the downtown cited lax safety measures by Montreal,
Maine and Atlantic Railway as well as Transport Canada for not auditing
railways thoroughly enough.
-
Vancouver city council is asking the Federal Court of Appeal for a judicial
review of the National Energy Board’s process to consider Kinder Morgan’s Trans
Mountain pipeline proposal. The city wants the board to take climate change
into account for the $5.4-billion project to almost triple the capacity of the
pipeline carrying Alberta oilsands crude to the port in Vancouver.
-
A Canadian Border Services Agency officer has lost her job over allegations of
accepting a bribe from singer Justin Bieber’s entourage. Reports say she
allowed two U.S. citizens with criminal records to enter Canada at Niagara
Falls, Ontario in exchange for backstage passes to the pop star’s shows.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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