Canada column for
Sunday, Feb. 3/19
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By Jim Fox
Prosecutors suggest
a 10-year prison term for a truck driver who blew through a rural Saskatchewan
intersection killing 16 people and injuring 13 others.
Most were members
of the Humboldt Broncos hockey team going to a game last April 6.
“It happened
because of my lack of experience and I'm so, so, so, so sorry,” Jaskirat Singh
Sidhu, 30, told the victims’ families in a Melfort courtroom.
Sidhu said he takes
“full responsibility” for the collision with the team bus and when his
attention was distracted by a flapping tarp.
The court heard he
shouldn’t have been driving as he was suspended for driver hours and trip
inspection violations.
More than 90 victim
impact statements, ranging from anger to forgiveness for Sidhu, were heard.
Prosecutor Thomas
Healey said the sentence should include a 10-year driving ban and deportation to
India.
“This was a crime –
all he had to do was stop – just stop,” he said.
Judge Inez Cardinal
will sentence Sidhu on March 22.
---
The Canadian government
is taking stringent measures to combat foreign interference in its elections.
With the federal
election set for Oct. 21, the measures include enhancing Canada’s readiness to
defend the democratic process from cyber threats and disinformation.
The new plan will
inform Canadians about serious meddling during the campaign.
Public Safety Minister
Ralph Goodale said security agencies will provide “direct” briefings to key
members of national political campaigns.
---
News in brief:
- Ron Joyce, co-founder of the iconic Tim
Hortons coffee shop chain, has died at 88 at home in Burlington, Ontario. He
founded the chain with late hockey legend Horton in 1964. It ow has 4,613 outlets
in 14 countries.
- Federal authorities
are warning of serious safety risks at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
Poorly laid-out runways and pilot distraction cause potentially catastrophic
situations, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said. The key
recommendation is to consider changing the problematic layout.
- A Kentucky canoe
rental company has “borrowed” a photo of Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau and his family for a large billboard. The image taken from the
Internet shows a smiling Trudeau with his wife and two kids on an ad for Mammoth
Cave Canoe and Kayak. It was actually taken in the Yukon in 2013, Trudeau said.
---
Facts and figures:
The Canadian dollar
is higher at 76.36 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.309 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 15,506 points while the TSX Venture index is 622 points.
The average price for gas in Canada is steady at
$1.01 a liter or $3.83 (Canadian) for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto 6/49: (Jan. 30) 3, 7, 27, 37, 43 and 48; bonus 45.
(Jan. 26) 3, 7, 10, 12, 14 and 25; bonus 36. Lotto Max: (Jan. 25) 6, 12,
20, 24, 40, 42 and 47; bonus 44.
---
Regional briefs:
- How cold was it?
Much of Canada was parked under a “polar vortex” for several days with extreme
cold and some snow. The Prairies were colder than the North Pole as “extremely
dangerous cold weather” gripped Ontario and Quebec as well. Overnight readings
hit -35F with the wind chill. Toronto had record snowfall of 9 inches (13 at
the airport).
- Two women in a
snow-shoveling fight led to the arrest of one for assault. It started when a
61-year-old woman became upset about where a neighbor, aged 71, was dumping
snow in Guelph, Ontario. Police said the older lady got a cut on her cheek and
bruised wrists in the skirmish in an apartment parking lot.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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