Canada column for
Sunday, Nov. 4/18
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By Jim Fox
Asylum seekers
illegally entering Canada from the United States now have to wait almost two years
to have their claims processed.
That’s with an
additional $74 million from the Canadian government to allow the hiring of 60 more
workers to help clear some of the backlog.
The Immigration and
Refugee Board said workers are adjudicating refugee claims and appeals, most of
which are from the influx of tens of thousands of “irregular” border crossers
at non-official entry points.
Wait times are
expected to grow with an anticipated 60,000 new claims this year on top of a current
inventory of 65,000 to be handled.
Once someone has
been determined eligible to make a refugee claim, they normally get access to
social assistance payments, education, health services, emergency housing and
legal aid.
They can then apply
for a work permit after they have undergone medical and security examinations.
Churchill, Manitoba
is back on track as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined residents celebrating
the return of train service.
The rails that are
the only land link to the subarctic town of 900 people on the shore of Hudson
Bay were washed away by massive flooding in the spring of 2017.
They crowded around
a bonfire at a street party and burned the banner of the rail line’s former
owner, Denver-based Omnitrax.
People and goods
had to be flown into Churchill as prices soared and tourism was hurt in the
community known as the Polar Bear Capital of the World.
The Canadian
government provided $74 million to help buy and repair the railroad, along with
the town’s port and $43 million over 10 years to subsidize operations when Omnitrax
showed no interest in repairing the line.
---
News in brief:
- Parcel deliveries
have been particularly affected as rotating strikes by Canada Post workers have
created a backlog across the country. There were reports of dozens of trailers
filled with parcels and packages waiting processing at the post office’s three
largest sorting plants. About 6,000 workers left their jobs in Montreal after
Toronto and Vancouver were hit.
- Canada will send astronaut
David Saint-Jacques into space on Dec. 3 for a six-month mission at the
International Space Station. The Canadian Space Agency said he will leave earth
with NASA astronaut Anne McClain and Oleg Kononenkoof of the Russian space
agency Roscosmos.
---
Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar is
lower at 76.23 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.311 Canadian before bank
exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada’s
key interest rate is steady at 1.75 percent while the prime-lending rate is 3.95
percent.
Stock markets are higher, with the Toronto
exchange index at 15,119 points while the TSX Venture index is 651 points.
The average price for gas in Canada is lower at
$1.19 a liter or $4.52 (Canadian) for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto 6/49: (Oct. 31) 4, 9,
11, 15, 25 and 27; bonus 5. (Oct. 27) 10, 18, 21, 29, 35 and 37; bonus 24.
Lotto Max: (Oct. 26) 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 20 and 30; bonus 45.
---
Regional briefs:
- The Ontario
government is defying Prime Minister Trudeau by repealing the “costly”
cap-and-trade system that required polluters to pay up and residents to pay
more for energy. “It was costly, it was ineffective, it was killing jobs, it’s
gone today,” said Environment Minister Rod Phillips. Premier Doug Ford’s
government has also ended programs with rebates for energy-efficient
renovations, transit projects and school upgrades.
- Here’s a wake-up
call for would-be flyers after a British Columbia man fell into a deep sleep
before takeoff and was ordered removed from a WestJet flight to Cuba from
Toronto. Stephen Bennett from Burnaby, who recently had a stroke, had taken a
sleeping pill. The crew ruled he posed a “safety risk.” Bennett, his wife and
son had to pay $1,600 to arrange another flight. WestJet administration said it
stood by the crew’s action.
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Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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