Canada column for
Sunday, Jan. 6/19
THE CANADIAN REPORT
By Jim Fox
Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau is being called on to “do the right thing” and call
by-elections to fill up to five vacancies in the House of
Commons.
Conservative leader
Andrew Scheer is making the demand of the Liberal government, saying Trudeau has
“left thousands of Canadians unrepresented in Parliament.”
A fifth vacancy
will happen Jan. 22 with Liberal Nicola Di Iorio quitting in Montreal’s Saint-Leonard-Saint-Michel,
a day after the deadline to set the date for by-elections in advance of the
federal election in October.
Trudeau’s office
says he intends to have by-elections in three ridings, with the voting taking place
early next month.
The politicians
leaving are Sheila Malcolmson in British Columbia’s Nanaimo-Ladysmith as she is
running for the New Democratic Party (NDP) in a provincial by-election.
In B.C.’s Burnaby
South, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is seeking to replace Kennedy Stewart, now the
mayor of Vancouver.
There are also the
resignations in Ontario’s York-Simcoe by Conservative Peter Van Loan and
Montreal Outremont’s former NDP leader Tom Mulcair.
---
Canada’s jobless
rate is steady at a 43-year low but wage growth is showing weakness and
inflation is eating up wage gains.
Statistics Canada
reported the unemployment rate at 5.6 percent last month while the economy ended
the year adding 9,300 net new jobs.
Year-over-year
average hourly wage growth for permanent employees was 1.49 percent, up
slightly from November and compared with a peak of 3.9 percent last May.
The numbers lead to
predictions the central Bank of Canada will put off plans to raise interest
rates anytime soon.
Bank Governor
Stephen Poloz said more rate hikes will be needed to keep inflation under
control.
---
News in brief:
- A Toronto man
arrested for trying to enter the White House said he just wanted to have a
drink with President Donald Trump and get his advice on love. Yianny
Georgopoulos, 31, was arrested by Secret Service officers and is being held for
a mental health examination. He said he wanted to offer Trump, a non-drinker,
two bottles of Canadian whisky and get his advice in finding a wife.
- A rare warning of
an “extreme” avalanche risk has been issued in Alberta and British Columbia by Parks
Canada. Heavy snowfall, warm temperatures and high winds have led to an extreme
risk in Banff, Yoho, Kootenay and Jasper national parks. The mountains were
buried in up to 45 centimeters (1.5 feet) of snow that’s stacked on top of a “weak
layer” from December. The warning means that people should avoid all avalanche
terrain because natural and human-triggered avalanches will definitely occur
with more snow expected.
---
Facts and figures:
The Canadian dollar
has jumped to 74.66 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.339 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 14,426 points while the TSX Venture index is 587 points.
The average price for gas in Canada is down at $1.022
a liter or $3.88 (Canadian) for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto 6/49: (Jan. 2) 13, 18, 19, 36, 37 and 43; bonus 49.
(Dec. 29) 11, 16, 17, 22, 29 and 47; bonus 32. Lotto Max: (Dec. 28) 5, 13,
14, 16, 17, 29 and 49; bonus 18.
---
Regional briefs:
- Residents of
Gander, Newfoundland, were hit with one of the biggest snowfalls ever recorded at
58 centimeters – almost two feet. The powerful mid-week storm blanketed much of
the province while John’s, the capital city, had 46 centimetres. Environment
Canada meteorologist David Neil said including snow on the ground, the depth was
101 centimeters (3.3 feet) there.
- A British
Columbia woman who was the sole ticket-holder of a tax-free Lotto Max jackpot
of $39.5-million intends to keep playing the lottery. Michelle De Roma of
Surrey put the winning ticket in “a safe place” for a week before claiming the
prize so it wouldn’t interfere with holiday activities. The mother of three
bought the ticket at Tsawwassen Mills shopping center in Delta on Dec. 26.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment