Canada column for
Sunday, Aug. 14/16
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By Jim Fox
FBI and Canadian
police worked together in a “race against time” to thwart a terrorist attack just
before it was about to happen.
It all started with
an early-morning tip from the FBI about a potential suicide bomber planning an
attack somewhere in Canada.
The end came three
hours later when police identified the suspect and nabbed him in a taxi leaving
his home in small-town Strathroy, Ontario, west of Toronto.
In the ensuing
scuffle, a bomb was detonated in the taxi, injuring the driver, and the
assailant – Aaron Driver, 24, a known terrorist sympathizer – was dead.
The police were
acting on a tip of a “martyrdom video,” showing a black-hooded and masked man
warning that he was planning to detonate an explosive device in an urban center
during the morning or afternoon rush hour, said Mountie deputy commissioner
Mike Cabana.
The angry video
threat included a Muslim prayer in Arabic and warning of immediate retaliation
for Canada’s participation in the “war on Islam.”
The challenge for
the authorities was to try to identify the man in the video and find him
quickly, which they did, Cabana said.
Driver had been
under a court order not to associate with any terrorist organizations and other
restrictions after his arrest last year when he praised Islamist terrorist
activities and the 2014 attack on Canada’s Parliament.
---
Two of the
“new-age” fighter jets that are to replace Canada’s 1980’s era CF-18s made
their debut at the Abbotsford International Airshow.
The F-35s have been
a concern due to cost overruns and delays as well as the current Liberal
government’s opposition to the previous Conservative government’s choice to buy
64 of the jets.
The new jets have
stealth technology, advanced radar and a threat detection system that were praised
by Lt.-Col. George Watkins of the U.S. Air Force’s 34th Fighter Squadron.
He flew one of two new
planes to British Columbia for the show from Hill Air Force Base in Utah and
called it “awesome.”
---
News in brief:
- The Canadian
government is establishing a “non-partisan” advisory board to select potential
new judges for the Supreme Court. This is designed to bring more transparency
and less partisan bickering to the process. The board will be chaired by former
Prime Minister Kim Campbell and is formed just as Judge Thomas Cromwell from
Nova Scotia is to retire.
- Farmers across
Canada are having to contend with two different summers this year – extreme
heat and drought in Ontario and southern Quebec, and flooding out west. Record
dryness and heat in the high 80s and low 90s are resulting in smaller fruit and
vegetable crop yields in the east. But on the Prairies, heavy and numerous
rainstorms have increased the risks of rot and disease in crops.
---
Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar has advanced
to 77.19 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.295 Canadian, before exchange
fees.
The Bank of Canada’s
key interest rate is steady at 0.5 percent while the prime-lending rate is 2.7
percent.
Stock markets are
higher, with the Toronto exchange index at 14,776 points while the TSX Venture
index is 839 points.
The average price for
gas in Canada is $1.01 a liter or $3.83 (Canadian) for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto 6/49: (Aug.
10) 6, 25, 26, 29, 37 and 43; bonus 41. (Aug. 6) 2, 7, 22, 26, 32 and 38; bonus
20. Lotto Max: (Aug. 5) 4, 6, 10, 20, 40, 46 and 47; bonus 39.
---
Regional briefs:
- “Significant
progress” is being made in battling 10 wildfires across Nova Scotia. The
province’s Natural Resources Department said the largest blaze is a 1,000-acre
fire at Seven Mile Lake as conditions remain very dry. There are restrictions on
activities within forests on hiking, camping and fishing.
- A class-action
lawsuit has been filed by an Alberta woman against California-based Niantic
Inc., creator of Pokemon Go. Barbra-Lyn Schaeffer cites invasion of privacy as
her home in Torrington has been inundated by Pokemon Go players. It has become the
site of a Pokemon gym where players can duel it out. “It’s been nothing but
grief,” she said of the smartphone game trespassers searching for the digital game
monsters.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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