Canada
column for Sunday, Nov. 23/14
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By
Jim Fox
More
Canadian oil will flow through the United States regardless of whether the
long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline is ever built, says TransCanada’s CEO.
Russ Girling’s comments followed the U.S. Senate defeating by one vote
efforts to move ahead with the $8-billion project.
The expansion of TransCanada’s U.S. pipeline network would carry 830,000
barrels of oil a day to the Gulf Coast from the Alberta oil sands and the Bakken
region in the U.S. northwest.
Regardless of the fate of the XL pipeline, TransCanada continues “active
negotiations” about shipping crude oil by rail, Girling said.
Pipelines are the safest and most efficient mode of transport but rail
transport is flexible and much quicker to implement without “the same
regulatory hurdles as building pipe does,” he added.
Regulatory
and environmental concerns have delayed for six years the Keystone XL project
that would cut across Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska.
An
insurance company is refusing to pay a Saskatchewan woman’s Hawaiian hospital
bill of almost $1 million, saying that her pregnancy was a “pre-existing
condition.”
Jennifer
Huculak, 30, of Humboldt went into premature labor while six months pregnant in
Maui on a vacation with her husband Darren Kimmel.
She was in a Honolulu hospital for six weeks and their daughter Reece
for two months, running up a bill of $947,000.
They had travel insurance from Blue Cross that rejected the claim, saying
she is “excluded from coverage under the terms of her pre-existing condition
provision” and the baby was not eligible.
Hucalak,
who said the family is considering filing for bankruptcy, said she wants other
travelers to know they need to be careful when buying travel insurance.
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News in brief:
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Walmart Canada has laid off 210 workers, mostly at its Toronto-area head office
while the Royal Bank is restructuring and could cut 200 jobs. The Walmart
layoffs were to create “a more efficient organizational structure.” The bank plans
to end its international business in the Caribbean and other foreign private
banking groups managed in Toronto, Montreal and the United States.
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Canada’s annual inflation rate rose by 2.4 percent last month, spiked by higher
food and shelter costs. Statistics Canada said the increase follows a
2.0-percent jump in September. Prices were higher in all provinces while
Alberta rose the most at 3.0 percent followed by Ontario at 2.8 percent.
British Columbia had the smallest gain at 1.1 percent.
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Facts and figures:
Canada’s
dollar is higher at 88.93 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.1244 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 15,103 points and the
TSX Venture index 791 points.
The average price of a liter of gasoline is lower at $1.1407 (Canadian).
Lotto 6-49: (Nov. 19) 5, 7, 20, 25, 36 and 46; bonus 24. (Nov. 15) 1, 3,
23, 35, 41 and 46; bonus 18. Lotto Max: (Nov. 14) 2, 5, 7, 13, 15, 30 and 38; bonus
27.
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Regional briefs:
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It cost Ontario taxpayers $468 million for the Liberal government to reopen
contracts for public school teachers last year, auditor general Bonnie Lysyk
reported. It was a move by new Premier Kathleen Wynne to make peace with the
teachers after bitter negotiations in which the government froze their pay and
reduced banked sick days and pension benefits.
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The Quebec government will be charging more for its public daycare program for
children. Premier Philippe Couillard said payments will be based on family
income. They will range from the current fee of $7.30 a day for family incomes
of less than $50,000 a year to a maximum of $20 for $150,000 or more a year in
income.
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Manitoba plans to raise the speed limit to 110 kilometers an hour (68 mph) from
100 (62) on the Trans-Canada Highway from the Saskatchewan border to Winnipeg.
In a speech opening the legislature, Premier Greg Selinger also said his
government will end charging interest on university and college student loans
and build a higher bridge at Morris to prevent flooding on the highway linking
Winnipeg with the U.S.
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Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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