Canada column for
Sunday, May 27/18
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By Jim Fox
Three people remain
in Toronto-area hospitals with “critical injuries” after a crude bomb was
detonated in an Indian restaurant.
Twelve other diners
injured in the blast were treated at hospitals and released after the incident at
the Bombay Bhel restaurant in Mississauga during two birthday celebrations.
Videos showed two
men who had their faces covered entering the restaurant and detonating a bomb
and then running away.
Police said so far there
is no indication the explosion was an act of terrorism or a hate crime.
“Every police
resource available” is trying to track down those responsible for this
“horrendous act,” said Peel Regional Police Chief Jennifer Evans.
The owners of the
well-known and popular restaurant called the bombing “extremely horrific and
sad.”
The Consulate
General of India in Toronto has opened a helpline to assist.
Consul General Dinesh Bhatia said those
injured were Indian or Indo-Canadian and long-time residents of Canada.
---
Polls show Ontario
voters could be giving the socialist New Democratic Party (NDP) a surprise upset
victory in the June 7 election.
Radical Ontario Conservative
leader Doug Ford has slipped drastically in the latest poll by Ipsos with 46
percent of those surveyed saying they will support the NDP.
Similarly, the
Forum Research poll found 47 percent supporting the socialists, with 39 for the
Conservatives and only 14 percent for the current unpopular Liberal government.
“If the election
were held today, we project these results would see an NDP majority government
with 79 seats,” Forum said.
---
News in brief:
- Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau has told U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexican President
Enrique Pena Nieto that he wants the North American Free Trade Agreement talks
to come to a timely conclusion. Even as the talks seemed to have reached an impasse,
Trudeau wants to continue. He also warns that a U.S. threat to place tariffs of
up to 25 percent on vehicle imports would have an “incredibly negative effect”
with the integrated nature of the auto industries.
- About 3,000
Teamsters’ members are threatening to go on strike at Canadian Pacific Railway
after they overwhelmingly rejected the company’s “final” offer. They voted 98.1
percent against the offer and 365 signal and communications workers, members of
the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, were 97 percent against
the offer. Talks were to resume and the railway and the unions must give 72
hours’ notice before a lock out or strike.
---
Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar is
lower at 77.11 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.296 in Canadian
funds (exchange fees extra).
The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate is steady
at 1.25 percent while the prime-lending rate is 3.45 percent.
Stock markets are lower, with the Toronto
exchange index at 16,075 points while the TSX Venture index is 775 points.
The average price for gas in Canada is steady at
$1.36 a liter or $5.16 (Canadian) for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto 6/49: (May 23) 4, 9, 15, 20, 42 and 44; bonus 31.
(May 19) 14, 15, 28, 34, 38 and 44; bonus 30. Lotto Max: (May 18) 4, 13,
23, 30, 31, 37 and 43; bonus 32.
---
Regional briefs:
- People are
returning to their homes in Grand Forks, British Columbia as the worst of
flooding in the province has eased. Temporary housing and other support are
being given to people who cannot return to their homes immediately. Across the
province, there are 7,000 properties on an evacuation alert as warm weather has
led to a significant melting of snow in the mountains.
- Winter weather
returned to Newfoundland as a rare storm dumped a foot of snow on central and
parts of eastern parts of the province. There were snowfall warnings from Terra
Nova to Grand Falls-Windsor and schools were closed as another four inches fell
during the day.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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