Canada
column for Sunday, Jan. 4/15
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By
Jim Fox
A
suicidal man with a criminal history killed six adults and two children in
Edmonton in an act that police said was fueled by domestic problems.
Also in Alberta, a New Year’s Eve party in Calgary turned deadly when a
gunman shot seven people, with one of them dying of his wounds.
Police called the Edmonton slayings a “planned and deliberate” act of
domestic violence.
Sources say Phu Lam, 53. then took his own life at an Asian restaurant
in Fort Saskatchewan where he worked.
His first victim was Cyndi Duong, 37, a married mother of three, at her
home in southwest Edmonton.
A
few hours later, police discovered seven bodies in a northeast Edmonton home
owned by Lam. They were two men, three woman and a young boy and girl.
Police said they were awaiting autopsy results before releasing their
names and relationship to the shooter.
In
Calgary, gunshots were reported at a house party attended by about 50 people.
Abdullahi Ahmed, 26, a native of Somalia, was shot in the head and died
while six others were wounded. Police said that so far they have established no
motive.
---
Three shootings in the past week in Ottawa, Canada’s capital, have
raised concerns about escalating gang violence there.
Yaqoub Ali, 26, was arrested for firearms offenses after a man in his
20s was shot in the foot at an outlet shopping mall on Dec. 26.
Last Monday, a man was wounded by gunfire on a downtown street and later
that day, numerous shots were fired in a suburban neighborhood wounding a
teenager.
Acting Police Chief Jill Skinner said the force is “significantly
increasing the number of guns and gangs investigators looking into those cases.”
In
Toronto, Christopher Husbands was found guilty of second-degree murder in the
2012 shooting deaths of two people at the Eaton Center food court that
prosecutors said was a revenge killing.
Husbands,
25, who also wounded five bystanders, will be sentenced later this month.
---
News in brief:
-
Government figures show that 176 people have been refused entry to Canada under
the partial travel ban for those arriving from Ebola-affected countries in West
Africa. The government put the controversial measure into place in October to
bar people from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone from receiving visas to come
to Canada. As well, the government has stopped processing visa and visitor
applications from there.
-
Ontario has enacted tough new rules making it illegal to smoke on outdoor bar
and restaurant patios, playgrounds and public sports fields. The sale of
cigarettes and tobacco products at universities and colleges is also banned. It
said tobacco kills 13,000 people in Ontario annually and causes an estimated
$2.2 billion in direct health care costs.
---
Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar has dropped to 85.16 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar
returns $1.1742 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 14,707 points and the TSX
Venture index 699 points.
The average price of a liter of gasoline across Canada is down to 95.48
cents (Canadian).
Lotto 6-49: (Dec. 31) 6, 7, 8, 29, 35 and 45; bonus 12. (Dec. 27) 7, 22,
26, 27, 42 and 47; bonus 28. Lotto Max: (Dec. 26) 15, 20, 29, 39, 40, 43 and
46; bonus 12.
---
Regional briefs:
-
Winnipeg’s six hospitals are coping with an outbreak of flu cases as more than
900 people turned up for treatment at emergency rooms on Saturday last week.
The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said the severity of the illness has
pushed the admission rate to more than 20 percent.
-
Three men and a young girl were killed and three others injured in snowmobile
and ATV incidents in Quebec. Police said two snowmobiles collided on the St.
George River in Alma, killing one man and injuring three others. A
seven-year-old girl died when a snowmobile rolled over near Clova and two
18-year-old men died when an all-terrain vehicle flipped in
St-Lambert-de-Lauzon.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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