Canada column for Sunday, Nov. 15/15
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By
Jim Fox
The new Liberal government is advancing its commitment to resettle
25,000 Syrian refugees in Canada by the end of the year.
Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau has also told Defense Minister Harjitt Sajjan to end
Canada’s combat mission in Iraq and Syria, as promised in the election
campaign.
The
selection of refugees is underway with a focus on choosing people who have fled
to Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.
United
Nations staff members are working with Canadian officials to assess the cases.
Furio
De Angelis, Canadian representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees,
said it is “an extraordinary effort but not everyone is eligible.”
Priority
is being given to people in immediate physical danger, survivors of violence or
torture, medical needs or a woman, child or adolescent at risk.
In
“mandate letters” to his cabinet members, Trudeau referred to “refocusing
Canada’s efforts” to training local forces and humanitarian support and away
from combat.
There is a “need to revitalize, focus and support peacekeeping
operations around the world," he said.
---
Montreal
is dumping 2.1 billion gallons of raw sewage into the St. Lawrence River to facilitate
repairs on an aging tunnel linked to a treatment facility.
Federal and Quebec environmental experts gave their approval to the
one-week measure, saying it wouldn’t harm the fast-moving river.
Water
samples are being taken throughout the work, said Richard Fontaine, head of
Montreal’s waste water management department.
Mayor Denis Coderre said there was “no other option” and the work will
“protect our river” and avoid breaks or ruptures that might cause a larger
problem in the future.
---
News
in brief:
-
Signing the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty could be Canada’s
worst-ever policy decision due to its intellectual property provisions, says
Jim Balsillie, former co-chief executive of Research in Motion. The 12-country
agreement could cost Canada billions of dollars in lost prosperity in
innovation as it would favor more dominant countries such as the United States
and companies that already own ideas, he said.
-
Aerospace manufacturer Bombardier Inc. of Montreal must present a “strong
business case” if it wants federal money to help with its CSeries jet project,
Prime Minister Trudeau said. The Quebec government has pledged $1 billion for
part ownership of the company and wants the federal government to match the contribution.
Bombardier directly employs 18,000 people and supports 40,000 other in the
province’s aerospace industry.
---
Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar is lower at 75.01 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar
returns $1.333 in Canadian funds, before bank exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate remains at 0.5 percent while the
prime-lending rate is 2.7 percent.
Markets are lower with the Toronto Stock Exchange index at 13,084 points
and the TSX Venture index 523 points.
The average price of gas is down at a national average of $1.053 a liter
or $4 (Canadian) for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto 6/49: (Nov. 11) 8, 13, 20, 24, 37 and 42; bonus 22. (Nov. 7) 2, 3,
9, 17, 20 and 21; bonus 11. Lotto Max: (Nov. 6) 1, 10, 12, 20, 29, 35 and 47;
bonus 4.
---
Regional briefs:
-
Electrocution was ruled out as the cause of death for a Nova Scotia couple
found dead in a Mexico hotel hot tub. Charles and Dorothy Mackenzie, in their
60s, of Baddeck were at the Playacar Palace hotel in Playa del
Carmen for their daughter’s wedding. Investigators said the man died of
a heart attack and his wife drowned.
-
Transport Minister Marc Garneau said his government is rejecting a proposed runway
extension at the Toronto Island Airport. He said there will be no further
discussions with Porter Airlines at the downtown Billy Bishop Airport. It would
have allowed Porter to use larger planes including 12 Bombardier CSeries jets
it had ordered.
-
The British Columbia government has approved a $1.5 billion expansion of the
Hemlock Resort near Agassiz. Since buying the small ski-hill resort in 2006,
the Berezan Group has invested $10 million in improvements and will now turn it
into an “all-season playground.”
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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