Canada
column for Sunday, Feb. 15/15
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By
Jim Fox
Alberta, Canada’s oil-rich province, is reeling over a drastic drop in
crude prices that will lead to “deep” cuts in spending and jobs.
Finance Minister Robin Campbell said upcoming budget cuts will be “wide
and deep.”
Edmonton has now withdrawn its bid to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games
after the province said it can no longer afford its $1-billion share of the
cost.
Premier Jim Prentice said the slide in oil prices over the last six
months has resulted in a $7-billion loss to the provincial treasury.
“We will make the tough decisions we have to in reducing government
spending,” he said, adding that doing nothing would add $20 billion in debt
over the next three years.
Budget cuts are estimated at nine percent along with a five-percent cut
in government department spending in the next year, Campbell said.
Core
services such as health care, education and seniors and children’s programs
would continue while another option is to increase the 10-percent personal
income flat tax.
---
The Supreme Court of Canada’s historic ruling striking down the ban on
doctor-assisted deaths for mentally competent but suffering and “irremediable”
patients puts the onus now on the federal government.
The judgment gave Parliament one year to draft a bill recognizing the
right of consenting adults who are enduring intolerable physical or mental
suffering to seek medical help in ending their lives.
It
doesn’t limit physician-assisted death to those suffering a terminal illness.
Justice Minister Peter MacKay called it a “sensitive issue . . . with
deeply held beliefs on both sides.”
---
News
in brief:
-
Toronto-area Member of Parliament Eve Adams has quit the Conservative party to
join the Liberals. She plans to seek the nomination in Eglinton-Lawrence,
hoping to take on Finance Minister Joe Oliver in the federal election scheduled
for October.
-
Jason Kenney has been named Minister of Defense in a cabinet shuffle. He
succeeds Rob Nicholson who took over foreign affairs after the resignation of
John Baird. Kenney's former job as Minister of Employment and Social Development
went to Pierre Poilievre, Minister of State for Democratic Reform.
- As Target winds down its business in
Canada, Wal-Mart Canada announced plans to spend $230 million to expand seven
stores and open two new ones this year. It will also convert 20 locations to
supercentres with groceries and increase its Canadian store count to 396.
---
Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar is higher at 80.32 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar
returns $1.2448 in Canadian funds, before bank exchange fees.
The
Bank of Canada’s key interest rate is steady at 0.75 percent while the
prime-lending rate is 2.85 percent.
Stock
markets are higher with the Toronto exchange index at 15,310 points and the TSX
Venture index 694 points.
The average price of a liter of gasoline in Canada is up at 99.82 cents
or $3.79 (Canadian) for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto 6/49: (Feb. 11) 1, 13, 24, 29, 43 and 49; bonus 8. (Feb. 7) 14,
16, 24, 41, 42 and 48; bonus 34. Lotto Max: (Feb. 6) 1, 5, 7, 13, 14, 33 and
46; bonus 47.
---
Regional briefs:
-
Measles cases across Canada include 10 people in Quebec traced to an outbreak
at Disneyland in California. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control said that
infection has led to 114 cases in seven states. There are eight cases reported
in Ontario and one in Manitoba.
-
The body of a Royal Canadian Air Force search-and-rescue member who was swept
off a cliff in Alberta has been found. Sergeant Mark Salesse, 41, of Canadian
Forces Base Winnipeg, was training in ice climbing when an avalanche was
triggered in Banff National Park.
- Officials
of the Tim Hortons coffee shop chain have apologized after the owner of a Robson
Street location in Vancouver dumped a bucket of water, soaking a homeless man
and his dog sleeping outside. The actions were “regretful” and came “in a
moment of frustration,” the company said. The unnamed owner was told to apologize
to the man and make a “meaningful” donation to a homeless shelter.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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