Canada column for
Sunday, Sept. 10/17
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By Jim Fox
A Royal Canadian
Navy ship is en route to Florida and the Caribbean islands to offer aid to
areas devastated by Hurricane Irma.
HMCS St. John’s
was being deployed for a training exercise in the Caribbean when it returned to
Halifax to be loaded with additional relief supplies and a CH-124 Sea King
helicopter.
The ship, with a
crew of about 250 along with an air detachment, is carrying humanitarian
assistance supplies and disaster response equipment, said National Defense
spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier.
Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau said his government has been in contact with the Caribbean
Disaster Emergency Management Agency and others in the U.S. to determine the needs
and to co-ordinate potential assistance as requested.
Among the relief
aid, the ship carries water purification systems, primary medical care
supplies, food and items to keep people warm and comfortable for “a rapid
response,” Le Bouthillier added.
Global Affairs
Canada has been in touch with Canadians in the path of the storm and offered
assistance to those requiring emergency services, Trudeau said.
---
Canada’s central
bank has again raised its trendsetting interest rate, the second hike since
July.
The Bank of Canada’s
key rate rose 0.25 percent to match the jump in July and is now at 1 percent.
Bank governor
Stephen Poloz therefore reversed the two cuts he made in 2015 to aid the
economy that has now become increasingly robust and no longer in need of as
much stimulus.
The move led
commercial banks to raise their prime-lending rates to 3.2 percent from 2.95
percent.
“Given elevated
household indebtedness, close attention will be paid to the sensitivity of the
economy to (additional) higher interest rates,” the bank said.
---
News in brief:
- A trade dispute
could threaten the Canadian government’s plan to buy 18 Super Hornet fighter
jets from Boeing based in St. Louis, Prime Minister Trudeau said. Boeing has
accused the Montreal aerospace company Bombardier of being unfairly subsidized
by Canada’s government. U.S. trade regulators are expected to announce this
month whether to impose tariffs on Bombardier.
- Toronto is making
a bid to convince Amazon that it should become its second North American
headquarters. Mayor John Tory was commenting on news that Amazon is hunting for
a site for another headquarters along with its Seattle hub. Toronto is a “prime
candidate” for the $5-billion headquarters to employ about 50,000, Tory said as
it is a “bold, innovative city that has plenty of homegrown tech talent.”
---
Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar is
higher at 82.27 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.215 in Canadian
funds before exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate is up at
1 percent while the prime-lending rate is 3.2 percent.
Stock markets are lower, with the Toronto
exchange index at 14,985 points while the TSX Venture index is 771 points.
The average price for gas in Canada is higher
at $1.215 a liter or $4.61 (Canadian) for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto 6/49: (Sept. 6) 9, 15, 18, 21, 24 and 28; bonus
14. (Sept. 2) 9, 19, 26, 27, 42 and 46; bonus 21. Lotto Max (Sept. 1) 1, 7, 18,
28, 31, 39 and 48; bonus 35.
---
Regional briefs:
- A search team has
found a test model of the Avro Arrow, an advanced Canadian jet fighter, at the
bottom of Lake Ontario near Point Petre. OEX Recovery Group is spearheading the
Raise the Arrow expedition for the aircraft that was controversially scrapped
in 1959. Searchers are looking for nine models of the plane ordered to be
destroyed and dumped in the lake when the Canadian government ended the
project.
- Not many swimmers
are enjoying Halifax’s harbor 10 years after the city spent $333 million to
clean up the pollution and establish two public beaches near the downtown.
Tests show the crystal-clear saltwater is fit to swim in. It’s a perception
problem, said Anika Riopel, an environmental student at Dalhousie University,
as for 250 years raw sewage was sent to the sea.
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Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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