Canada
column for Sunday, Aug. 17/14
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By
Jim Fox
The numbers just didn’t add up in the recent Statistics Canada jobs
report and that resulted in a temporary halt in processing new employment
insurance claims.
The government agency scrambled to fix the mistake in its July Labor
Force Survey issued on Aug. 8 that said only 200 jobs were created last month.
In
fact, the corrected numbers released on Friday showed the economy actually
gained almost 42,000 jobs in July, not the 60,000 losses originally reported.
Statistics Canada said the problem was due to a human error in updating
the computer programs used for its survey.
The
Conservative government had put all new Employment Insurance claims on hold
until the agency fixed the problem.
That’s
because the monthly jobs’ numbers determine regional unemployment rates that impact
the number of weeks an unemployed person needs to have worked in order to
qualify for benefits.
There was no change in Canada’s jobless rate of 7.0 percent in July,
down a tenth of a point from the previous month.
---
A
former Conservative party staff member has been convicted of trying to prevent people
from voting in the 2011 federal election.
Michael
Sona, 25, of Ottawa is the first person ever convicted of the offense and will
be sentenced in October.
In
the so-called robocalls’ scandal, automated phone calls were made to 6,700 people
on election day, mainly to Liberal supporters in Guelph, Ontario.
The calls gave misleading instructions on where to vote, resulting in
some people not voting due to the confusion created, the court hearing was
told.
Sona was communications director for Guelph Conservative candidate Marty
Burke who finished a distant second to Liberal incumbent Frank Valeriote.
---
News in brief:
-
People unable to get to community mailboxes once Canada Post stops most home
delivery will have to have a note from their doctor. The post office plans to phase
out door-to-door delivery over five years in a cost-cutting move. Reports say
the federal corporation will ask the elderly and disabled residents for proof to
continue receiving their mail at home.
-
The search for evidence in the disappearance and suspected murder of Alvin and
Kathy Liknes and their grandson Nathan O’Brien, 5, of Calgary has taken police
to Mexico. The Liknes’ had been planning to move there when they were last seen
on June 29. Police have arrested Douglas Garland, 54, on three murder counts
even though they bodies have not been found.
---
Facts and figures:
Canada’s
dollar has advanced to 91.67 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.0907 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 mixed, with the Toronto exchange index up at 15,224 points and the
TSX Venture index down at 989 points.
The average price of a liter of gasoline in Canada is up at $1.3082 (Canadian).
Lotto 6-49: (Aug. 13) 8, 16, 21, 39, 44 and 45; bonus 11. (Aug 9) 2, 12,
30, 32, 37 and 40; bonus 39. Lotto Max: (Aug. 8) 6, 9, 16, 19, 20, 24 and 30;
bonus 31.
---
Regional briefs:
-
Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair has withdrawn his threat of legal action
against Mayor Rob Ford’s brother, councilor Doug Ford. Blair had demanded an apology
after Doug Ford accused him of leaking information about a police investigation
involving the mayor. The issue concerned a report that police were preparing to
subpoena the mayor to testify at a preliminary hearing for a friend facing drug
and extortion charges.
-
There has been a population decline of 0.4 percent in two years in Canada’s
Atlantic provinces. The population has fallen by 9,294 people to 2,364,770 in
Newfoundland/Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The
island had the only increase in population by 307 people.
-
A social-media-savvy robot called Hitchbot has completed a 3,800-mile
hitchhiking journey across Canada. The three-week trek from Halifax to Victoria
was part of an interdisciplinary research project by Ontario-based
communications researchers. The robot’s co-creator David Smith of Hamilton’s
McMaster University said they are studying the evolving relationship between
people and technology.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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