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Monday, November 19, 2018

Online retailers urge an end to rotating postal workers' strikes in Canada


   Canada column for Sunday, Nov. 18/18

   THE CANADIAN REPORT
   c) By Jim Fox

   Online retailers led by eBay have called on the Canadian government to end a five-week labor disruption by postal workers as people are being urged not to mail anything to Canada.
   There are 407 truckloads of mail and parcels backlogged at Toronto sorting terminals and 100 in Vancouver as rotating strikes continue.
   The latest offer to settle the dispute was rejected for the 50,000 workers.
   Retailers want to see some effort to end the strike as Black Friday and Cyber Monday’s big selling dates approach.
   In a bid to end the job action, the post office sweetened its contract offer but the Canadian Union of Postal Workers said it was “unsatisfactory” and wouldn’t put it to a vote.
   Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has warned the Liberal government might be forced to legislate an end to the strikes before they disrupt the holiday shopping and greeting card season.
   “We have been forced to request that international posts, including the United States Postal Service, refrain from shipping items until we can clear the backlog,” said Canada Post spokesman Jon Hamilton.
   More than 200 cities and towns have been hit by the rotating strikes.

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   Canada is moving forward with plans to reach a free-trade agreement with a bloc of 10 Asian nations by next spring.
   Prime Minister Trudeau said exploratory talks have begun on a pact with the countries that combined have a population of nearly 650 million and an economy of $2.8 trillion U.S.
   The nations – the Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Burma – are already Canada’s sixth-largest trading partner.
   “Canada is resolutely pro-trade and is very aware that the center of economic gravity in the world is certainly shifting towards Asia and specifically towards Southeast Asia,” Trudeau said.

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   News in brief:
   - Ontario Member of Parliament Tony Clement, 57, has resigned from Parliamentary duties after revealing he sent sexually explicit images and a video of himself to a woman who allegedly turned out to be an extortionist. The respected long-time Conservative politician from Parry Sound-Muskoka is married with three children. As police investigate the issue, Clement has apologized for his “very poor judgment” and said he plans to seek treatment.
   - A strike has been averted at the Toronto Globe and Mail, “Canada’s National Newspaper,” only hours before a deadline. Unifor, the union representing 320 reporters, editors and other staff, said the two sides have reached a tentative agreement. Details weren’t released but the union wants pension protection and an end to a “pay gap” between male and female employees.

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   Facts and figures:
   Canada’s dollar is higher at 76.06 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.314 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 15,160 points while the TSX Venture index is 625 points.
   The average price for gas in Canada is lower at $1.13 a liter or $4.29 (Canadian) for a U.S. gallon.
   Lotto 6/49: (Nov. 14) 5, 10, 20, 23, 35 and 42; bonus 44. (Nov. 10) 6, 9, 16, 20, 31 and 41; bonus 49. Lotto Max: (Nov. 9) 2, 12, 31, 34, 39, 48 and 49; bonus 1.

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   Regional briefs:
   - Former New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant is resigning as Liberal leader after narrowly losing last September’s provincial election. He continued on after the vote with a minority government that was toppled in a non-confidence vote. That resulted in Blaine Higgs becoming premier with his minority Conservative government.
   - The Supreme Court of Canada will hear the case of a Quebec woman suing the Montreal Transit Corp. after being arrested for refusing to hold an escalator handrail. The incident involved Bela Kosoian and a police officer at a subway station in Laval. The officer pointed to a sign saying “Hold the handrail” but she refused, considering it not to be a law. Kosoian was fined $100 for disobeying the sign and $320 for obstructing an officer, but was acquitted.

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Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com

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