Canada column for Sunday, July 10/16
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By Jim Fox
Federal Member of
Parliament Jason Kenney is calling on former prime minister Stephen Harper to
help him “unite-the-right” in Alberta.
The Calgary
politician has decided against making a bid to succeed Harper as Conservative
leader to instead seek to become leader of the party in the western province.
He plans to resign from
his federal position on Oct. 1 when the Alberta leadership race begins.
An endorsement from
Harper would be “more than welcome” to unite Alberta’s right-wing parties – the
Conservatives and Wildrose.
This would be an
attempt to defeat the ruling socialist New Democrats led by Premier Rachel
Notley in the 2019 election.
A merged
“free-enterprise party” would bring back the “Alberta Advantage” slogan of the long-gone
days of balanced budgets and huge oil and gas revenue surpluses that are under
attack by the New Democrats’ policies, Kenney said.
Other measures
would include scrapping the planned carbon tax and review the government’s
moves to cancel the flat income tax system and raise corporate taxes.
---
The mail continues
to flow under the threat of a strike or lockout of postal workers on Monday.
Canada Post
bargainers said the government corporation that faces decreased demand for its
services cannot afford the wages and benefits demanded by the Canadian Union of
Postal Workers.
The union has
called for a 30-day “cooling off” period to allow the two sides to negotiate a
new contract without a strike or lockout.
The postal service
has given notice that it will lock out the 50,000 unionized employees starting
Monday if there's no deal.
---
News in brief:
- Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau and Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders have expressed sympathy
over the sniper deaths of five police officers in Dallas. Trudeau said
Canadians are shocked by the attacks and Canada’s solidarity is with all
victims of violence. Saunders, Toronto’s first black chief, tweeted his force's
heartfelt sympathies, thoughts and prayers to the Dallas police department.
- Canada’s employment
situation was little changed last month with some gains in service jobs and
drops in factory and construction work. Statistics Canada said there was a net
loss of 700 jobs across the country as the unemployment rate fell to 6.8
percent from 6.9 per cent. British Columbia had job gains of 16,000 positions
but the labor market decreased or remained largely unchanged elsewhere.
---
Facts and figures:
The Canadian dollar
is lower at 76.64 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.304 in Canadian
funds, before 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 higher,
with the Toronto Stock Exchange index at 14,324 points and the TSX Venture
index at 750 points.
The average price for
gas in Canada has dropped to $1.03 a liter or $3.91 (Canadian) for a U.S.
gallon.
Lotto 6/49: (July 6)
7, 12, 22, 35, 39 and 43; bonus 13. (July 2) 1, 16, 28, 33, 39 and 45; bonus
13. Lotto Max: (July 1) 10, 12, 14, 28, 36, 39 and 45; bonus 26.
---
Regional briefs:
- The wildfire that
devastated Fort McMurray and the Alberta oil sands country is estimated to be
the costliest disaster in Canada. The Insurance Bureau of Canada said there was
about $3.58 billion in damage in the May fire. That is nearly twice as much as
the January 1998 ice storms in eastern Ontario and southern Quebec at $2
billion in damage.
- The somewhat
derogatory term “come from away” should be banned from the Atlantic Canadian
vocabulary, says Nova Scotia federal politician Scott Brison. The enduring
slight reflects an apprehensive attitude toward newcomers by Maritimers. “It’s
in our collective interest, economically and socially, to not use terms that
reflect a negative view of people who choose to make Atlantic Canada their
home,” he said.
- So many people
wanted to attend the wedding next month of the mayor of Whitchurch-Stouffville,
east of Toronto, and his bride that they’re inviting the whole town. Mayor
Justin Altmann and bride-to-be Jenny Hillier said they want everyone to come
out to watch the ceremony, have some cake and meet them after the ceremony.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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