Canada column for Sunday, May 3/15
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By
Jim Fox
The Ontario government is so intent on cutting costs for highway snow
clearing that it left roads in an unsafe condition for drivers, Auditor General
Bonnie Lysyk said.
In
a scathing report, she said the Liberal government even gave contracts to private
companies that didn’t have the equipment to clear highways of snow.
The cutbacks over the last five years were at a cost that included “greater
delays in clearing highways so that they were safe to drive during and after a
storm," Lysyk said.
Before contract changes were made in 2009, most highways were cleared within
about 2.1 hours after a storm but that climbed to 4.7 hours by 2013-14, her
report said.
She found that contract changes put more emphasis on the lowest bidder
and less on a company’s ability to actually do the job.
As
well, contractors started using less salt, sand and anti-icing liquids on
highways that they patrolled less often than before, Lysyk said.
“Let me assure all of you, we will take action and we will get it
right,” Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca said of the report.
---
A
second class-action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of passengers on an Air
Canada plane that crashed at Halifax’s airport.
The statement of claim filed with the Nova Scotia Supreme Court seeks
damages for physical and psychological injuries.
Air Canada Flight 624 hit the ground short of the runway and broke apart
on March 29 while landing during a snowstorm.
There
were no deaths but about 24 people were injured among the 133 passengers and
five crewmembers.
---
News
in brief:
-
Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be joined on Tuesday in Holland by a group
of elderly Canadian veterans to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the
Second World War. The trip to the Netherlands is in recognition of the Canadian
troops’ vital role in liberating the country from the Nazis. The battle in
Europe resulted in the deaths of 21,478 Canadian soldiers.
- Households
have gone deeper into debt in recent years, Statistics Canada reported. The
agency said the median debt-to-income ratio amounted to 110 percent of a
family’s after-tax income in 2012, compared with 78 percent in 1999. Thirty-five
percent of families owed more than twice their annual after-tax income,
compared with 23 percent of in 1999.
- Canada’s
economy remained even in February with the gross domestic product – or the
value of the goods and services produced – unchanged.
Statistics Canada said gains in retail sales were offset by declines in
manufacturing and the oil and gas industry.
---
Facts and figures:
The
Canadian dollar has advanced to 82.18 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns
$1.2168 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.
Markets
are lower, with the Toronto Stock Exchange index at 15,357 points and the TSX
Venture index at 697 points.
The
average price of gasoline is higher at $1.08 a liter or $4.11 (Canadian) for a
U.S. gallon.
Lotto 6/49: (April 29) 10, 21, 34, 37, 45 and 49; bonus 43. (April 25)
7, 13, 23, 25, 40 and 41; bonus 48. Lotto Max: (April 24) 3, 37, 38, 40, 42, 43
and 46; bonus 12.
---
Regional briefs:
-
The British Columbia Teachers Federation is seeking to appeal to the Supreme
Court of Canada a ruling that the provincial government didn’t violate charter
rights to bargain class size and composition. The thorny issue, debated for 13
years, arose again last year when teachers went on strike in June and delayed
the start of classes in September until the union signed a six-year deal.
-
The Manitoba government’s budget is hitting smokers with a boost of $1 in tax
on a carton of cigarettes and increasing the capital tax on financial
institutions by one percent to six percent. The added money will help pay for infrastructure
spending in a budget with a deficit of $422 million. There will be higher tax
credits for at-home caregivers of relatives and an increase in rental
assistance for welfare recipients by up to $271 a household.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment