Canada column for
Sunday, March 17/19
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By Jim Fox
The somewhat
reluctant grounding by Canada of Boeing 737 Max aircraft has thrown March school
break travel into chaos for many Canadians.
Transport Minister
Marc Garneau said it was decided to close Canadian skies to the aircraft a day
after many others countries took action in the aftermath of the deadly crash of
an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
Eighteen Canadians
were among the 157 people killed in the crash in Addis Ababa.
Garneau said the
decision to ground the airplanes was a “precautionary move.”
It came after
information showed “similarities” between the flight profile and that of a Lion
Air flight involving the same aircraft that crashed off the Indonesian coast
last October killing 189 people.
“I will not
hesitate to take swift action should we discover any additional safety issues,”
Garneau said.
Canada has 41 Max
8s with 24 operated by Air Canada, 13 by Westjet and four by Ontario vacation
airline Sunwing.
The situation has
left the airlines struggling to make other flight arrangements for travel home.
The Canadian
government’s spending and taxation plans will be revealed in this election year
budget to be announced on Tuesday.
As the document is
being readied, the Fraser Institute says Canada’s top marginal income tax rates
are punitively high and put the country in an uncompetitive position.
The study by the
independent research organization said this discourages people from engaging in
productive economic activity and hinders economic growth and prosperity.
It concluded that
Canadian workers pay significantly higher personal income taxes than Americans,
with the highest combined personal marginal income tax rates in Canada.
---
News in brief:
- Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau will make changes to his cabinet on Monday for the third time in
three months. This is said to fill the gap left by the abrupt resignation of
Jane Philpott, Treasury Board president, over the government’s handling of the
SNC-Lavalin affair. She said she has “lost confidence” in the government for
trying to help the company avoid a trial on bribery charges.
- Canada’s central
bank is sounding the alarm over an explosion of global debt in the past decade.
Carolyn Wilkins, the Bank of Canada’s senior deputy governor, told a Vancouver
audience the debt is a major concern in that it holds back economic growth and
creates vulnerabilities in the world’s financial system. As
well, unknowns such as ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions could knock
things off course, she warned.
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Facts and figures:
The Canadian dollar
is higher at 74.99 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.33 Canadian before
bank and credit card exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada’s
key interest rate is unchanged at 1.75 percent while the prime-lending rate is 3.95
percent.
Stock markets are higher, with the Toronto
exchange index at 16,168 points while the TSX Venture index is 629 points.
The average price for gas in Canada is higher
at $1.16 a liter or $4.40 (Canadian) for a U.S. gallon; $1.11 a liter in
Ontario.
Lotto 6/49: (March 13) 4, 13, 18, 21, 26 and 31; bonus 33.
(March 9) 22, 23, 26, 34, 42 and 46; bonus 3. Lotto Max: (March 8) 2, 9,
6, 17, 21, 22 and 32; bonus 38.
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Regional briefs:
- The population of
Revelstoke, British Columbia has almost doubled and nothing has changed to
result in this – except a census recount. The 2017 census put the population at
7,547 but Mayor Gary Sulz said they have known for years the number is much
higher. The town hired Telus Insight, an analytics company, to do a more
thorough count, coming up with least 13,000 people. This could have a
huge impact on planning, funding requests and policing, Sulz said.
- The brutally cold
and snowy winter most Canadians endured can been blamed on the polar vortex
“getting drunk.” So says Prof. Jason Tetro, visiting scientist at the
University of Guelph in Ontario. “An examination of the
chemistry associated with the onset of these cold snaps reveals a near-perfect
resemblance to a chemical shift our bodies encounter during alcohol consumption,”
he said.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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