Canada column for Sunday, Nov. 6/16
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By Jim Fox
A “confidant” of
former Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been fined $50,000 for illegal
lobbying.
Ontario Court Judge
Catherine Kehoe said the fine for Bruce Carson is a necessary deterrent.
He was convicted on
three counts for his work on the national energy strategy while a director of
the Canada School of Energy and Environment and later vice-chair of the Energy
Policy Institute of Canada.
Court was told he
was under a five-year prohibition from lobbying public office holders since he
had worked in the Prime Minister’s Office until February 2009.
He had been paid
about $600,000 for lobbying work from 2009 to 2011 and the judge ruled he had
contact with officials of numerous government offices.
“It is necessary to
impose a significant fine to deter Mr. Carson and others who would engage in
lobbying and ignore the law, which goes to the heart of the integrity of
government and public trust of government,” the judge said.
Carson was found
not guilty last year of influence-peddling for attempting to have government
officials buy water filtration systems from a company that employed his former
escort girlfriend.
---
Authorities are
reviewing security measures at British Columbia schools after a homeless man
stabbed and killed a 13-year-old girl and wounded a second student.
Police called it a
random attack when the barefoot man walked into Abbotsford Senior Secondary
School and attacked the girls before staff confronted and restrained him.
Gabriel Klein, 21,
is facing a murder charge for the death of Letisha Reimer, a Grade 9 student,
and aggravated assault for the attack on a 14-year-old girl.
Investigators said there
is no known connection between the two students and Klein.
---
News in brief:
- The Canadian government
expects that a loosening of foreign-investment rules will spur competition and
allow more low-cost airlines. Transport Minister Marc Garneau said allowing
foreigners to own up to 49 percent of an airline, up from 25 percent, should drive
down fares and offer travelers more choice. There are also exemptions now to allow
aspiring discount airlines Canada Jetlines and Enerjet to find more
international investors, he said.
- Canadians might
get their wish to view the big-budget U.S. ads during Super Bowl games. One impediment
remains though as the Federal Court has agreed to hear a Bell Media appeal of
the ban on substituting Canadian commercials for the American ones. The
Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission ruled against allowing
the practise after hearing complaints from Canadians.
- Canada’s economy
gained 44,000 net new jobs last month largely due to part-time employment.
Statistics Canada said there was a gain of 67,000 part-time jobs while full-time
jobs fell by 23,000. There was no change in the 7.0 percent unemployment rate.
---
Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar has dipped to 74.53 cents U.S.
while the U.S. dollar returns $1.341 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 lower,
with the Toronto exchange index at 14,527 points while the TSX Venture index is
759 points.
The average price for
gas in Canada has risen to $1.051 a liter or $3.99 (Canadian) for a U.S.
gallon.
Lotto 6/49: (Nov.
2) 4, 7, 9, 21, 25 and 42; bonus 49. (Oct. 29) 21, 25, 26, 29, 36 and 45; bonus
38. Lotto Max: (Oct. 28) 3, 5, 19, 29, 33, 34 and 44; bonus 41.
---
Regional briefs:
- Two prominent
Ontario Liberals face Election Act bribery charges over allegedly offering a key
post for now Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault to switch to the provincial
Liberals from the federal New Democratic Party to win last year’s by-election
in Sudbury. Liberal re-election campaign chief Patricia Sorbara and Sudbury businessman
Gerry Lougheed have denied any wrongdoing.
- The Quebec
government plans to hold an inquiry into freedom of the press and police
surveillance of journalists. Montreal police and the provincial police have
admitted monitoring the phones of several journalists to identify information
leaks. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said spying on reporters was not happening
at the federal level.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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