Canadian politicians vote for bill to end postal workers strikes

   Canada column for Sunday, Nov. 25/18

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   The Canadian government is working to deliver an end to rotating strikes by postal workers that has backlogged millions of letters and parcels.

   Debate is ongoing this weekend as the Liberal government prepares legislation ordering and end to the strike early in the week.

UPDATE: Canada's Senate has approved the back-to-work bill and the rotating strikes are to end at noon on Tuesday (Nov. 27).

   Negotiations over the past year failed to find a settlement between Canada Post and the 50,000 members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers on pay and work conditions.

   Labor Minister Patty Hajdu has encouraged both sides to continue bargaining to “still pull a deal off.”

   Calling mail delivery an “essential service,” Hajdu said small businesses relying on the postal service to deliver their products over the busy Christmas season could go bankrupt if the situation isn’t remedied quickly.

   The union is calling back-to-work legislation unconstitutional and threatens to challenge it in court.

   Canada Post said it could take into January to clear the backlog of mail during almost five weeks of rotating strikes.

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   Montreal-based Bombardier Inc. is cutting about 5,100 jobs world-wide and selling off some of its divisions.

   It’s part of chief executive Alain Bellemare’s five-year plan to cut costs and focus on rail and business jets.

    In reducing the net long-term debt of $9 billion, the company will let go 2,500 workers in Quebec, 600 in Ontario and 2,000 overseas.

   Bombardier is also selling its Q400 turboprop aircraft division and flight training business.

   In the past three years, the company has laid off 14,500 workers in its aerospace and railway divisions.

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   News in brief:

   - St. Michael’s College School, an elite all-boys Roman Catholic private institution in Toronto, has been rocked by allegations of sexual assaults by students in hazing incidents. Six students have been arrested after police learned of videos of incidents. This led to the resignations of principal Greg Reeves and school president Father Jefferson Thompson.

   - The federal government is studying the issue of “birth tourism” as the numbers are growing of babies born in Canada to foreign residents. Statistics indicate 3,200 babies were born to women who weren’t Canadian residents in 2016. The Liberal government is defending the law that gives citizenship to anyone born on Canadian soil except for children of foreign diplomats. Liberal politician Joe Peschisolido wants stronger measures to end birth tourism, saying it abuses the social welfare system.

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   Facts and figures:

   Canada’s dollar has dropped to 75.54 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.323 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 lower, with the Toronto exchange index at 15,010 points while the TSX Venture index is 602 points.

   The average price for gas in Canada is lower at $1.11 a liter or $4.21 (Canadian) for a U.S. gallon.

   Lotto 6/49: (Nov. 21) 2, 10, 13, 25, 40 and 42; bonus 38. (Nov. 17) 5, 17, 18, 34, 44 and 45; bonus 27. Lotto Max: (Nov. 16) 11, 17, 24, 34, 41, 42 and 48; bonus 21.

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   Regional briefs:

   - Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says an oil price gap is costing the Canadian economy $80 million a day over a lack of pipeline capacity to move a glut of oil to world markets. Protesters confronted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Calgary as he said the crisis has the province’s oil selling for $45 a barrel, much less than the world price. The government is doing everything it can to build pipelines to move the oil, he said.

   - Rookie Liberal Member of Parliament Raj Grewal has resigned over a gambling addiction. The politician from Brampton East in Ontario is seeking treatment for his addiction that has led him to rack up “significant personal debts.” Grewal said his resignation, supported by Prime Minister Trudeau, is for “personal and medical reasons” and was made with “great difficulty and real sadness.

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Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com