Canada column for Sunday, Nov. 12/17
THE CANADIAN REPORT
“Along Interstate
75,” an exit-by-exit guide to driving to Florida from Canada and return.
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(c) By Jim Fox
Get your motor
runnin' and head out on the highway.
That refrain by
Steppenwolf is a common one for thousands of Canadians who are doing that en
route to their winter playground in the Florida sun.
The annual
migration of the so-called “snowbirds” to the warmer environs of the “Sunshine
State” is well under way.
Writer Dave Hunter
is the authority on the I-75 expressway to the sun with an internet-updated printed
guidebook for the 958 miles to Florida from Windsor-Detroit.
Hunter and wife Kathy,
who split their time between Mississauga, Ontario and Lakeland, Florida have written
the book on travel to Florida.
They have been
making this trek for 48 years and writing about it the past 24 years in their
“Along I-75” guidebook and companion publication, “Along Florida’s
Expressways.”
Each page is packed
with helpful information, covering 25 miles or 30 minutes of driving, reporting
on road conditions, construction zones and more.
There are 3,000 listings
of what is within a mile of each exit including gas stations, restaurants and lodging.
Details: i75online.com
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An Abbotsford,
British Columbia police officer was killed in an exchange of gun fire with an
alleged car thief.
Hundreds of people
gathered on overpasses along Highway 1 to pay tribute to Constable John
Davidson as his funeral motorcade passed.
Davidson, 53, was
trying to arrest a suspect who had opened fire in the parking lot of a shopping
center.
Oscar Arfmann, 65, is
being held for first-degree murder in the death of the 24-year police veteran
who had a wife and three children.
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News in brief:
- A national debate
is underway into how to manage marijuana sales to be legalized by the Canadian
government next July 1. Ontario and eastern provinces want control over sales while
western provinces might opt for private retailers. So far, Ontario and New
Brunswick plan to control access through government-run liquor stores.
Manitoba’s liquor board will distribute legal marijuana to private retailers.
- The Canadian
government is concerned about a renewed flood of refugees if the U.S. revokes
the temporary status of some 1.7-million “Dreamers” next year. Canada has sent
two Spanish-speaking politicians to talk to potential migrants in the U.S. about
“myths” of what might be offered to refugee
claimants. Many of the Dreamers came to the U.S. illegally as children and were
allowed to stay.
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Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar is higher
at 78.81 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.268 in Canadian funds
before exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate is
steady at 1 percent while the prime-lending rate is 3.2 percent.
Stock markets are higher, with the Toronto
exchange index at 16,039 points while the TSX Venture index is 796 points.
The average price for gas in Canada is higher at
$1.219 a liter or $4.63 (Canadian) for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto 6/49: (Nov. 8) 22, 24, 25, 32, 39 and 42; bonus
45. (Nov. 4) 1, 3, 6, 21, 22 and 33; bonus 19. Lotto Max (Nov. 3) 16, 17, 18, 20,
40, 42 and 43; bonus 15.
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Regional briefs:
- Ontario’s
colleges have been ordered to create a fund to assist students experiencing
financial hardship as a strike by faculty and staff drags on into its second month.
Advanced Education Minister Deb Matthews said the 24 colleges will use money
from unpaid wages and other savings for the fund. The Ontario Public Service
Employees Union, representing 12,000 strikers, is urging its members to reject
the latest offer.
- They’re not
exactly men in tights but about 30 bearded, burly guys in Newfoundland have
been photographed wearing sparkly mermaid tails. Posing as “merb’ys,” they’re
raising money for Spirit Horse NL’s therapeutic riding program to aid mental
health and life skills for children and adults. Their photos are appearing among
the wharfs, rugged cliffs and sea scenes in a calendar that’s become a global
hit.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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