Canada column for
Sunday, Oct. 13/19
THE CANADIAN REPORT
By Jim Fox
Promises, promises
and what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau didn’t do after the last election could
hurt his re-election bid on Oct. 21.
Opposition
politicians are criticizing the Liberal leader for failing to make electoral
reform happen.
Trudeau said his
government would end the “first-past-the-post” or winner-takes-all voting
system in electing Members of Parliament.
This results in the
candidate with the most votes in each of 338 districts being elected.
As well, under the
parliamentary system, the party winning the most districts has its leader
become the prime minister without a separate vote.
Last time, the
Liberals were elected in 184 ridings but having just 39.5 percent of the
popular vote.
The “ranked-ballot
system” that Trudeau said earlier he favored would have voters able to transfer
their votes to runners-up in split races to determine a winner.
In response,
Trudeau said he believes voters are not interested in changing the system.
---
Support
for the governing Liberals is waning in Quebec as polls show the Conservatives,
for the first time, have moved marginally head in the election race.
The poll
by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) said gains by the independence-minded
Bloc Quebecois have “whittled away the Liberals’ base in Quebec.”
“With the
two major parties (Liberals and Conservatives) now both below 33-percent
support nationwide, a majority government looks unlikely,” the CBC said.
The socialist
New Democrats have had its support levels increase since the English-language
leaders’ debate, while the Greens are holding their support, it added.
---
News in brief:
- Prosecutors now
say that Linda O’Leary, 56, won’t face jail time if convicted in a deadly boat
crash north of Toronto. They said the maximum penalty is $10,000 and not jail
time as police had suggested. The wife of TV personality/businessman Kevin
O’Leary faces a charge of careless operation of a vessel in a boat crash that
killed two people in Muskoka. The second boater Richard Ruh, 57, of Orchard
Park, N.Y., is alleged to be operating his boat at night without navigation
lights.
- Two teenagers
were arrested after a 14-year-old Hamilton, Ontario boy was stabbed and died
outside his high school as his mother watched. Police called it a bullying
incident as Devan Selvey was repeatedly harassed at Sir Winston
Churchill Secondary school. Two students, aged 14 and 18, face first-degree
murder charges while three other teens were released after questioning by the
police.
---
Facts and figures:
The Canadian dollar’s
value is higher at 75.7 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.319 Canadian
before exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada’s
key interest rate remains at 1.75 percent while the prime-lending rate is 3.95 percent.
Canadian stock markets are lower with the Toronto
exchange index at 16,415 points while the TSX Venture index is 540 points.
The average price for gas in Canada is higher
at $1.17 a liter or $4.44 (Canadian) for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto Max: (Oct. 8) 18, 24, 31, 38, 44, 46 and 50;
bonus 40. (Oct. 4) 20, 31, 35, 36, 39, 42 and 44; bonus 23.
Lotto
6/49: (Oct. 9) 5,14, 18, 33, 40 and 44; bonus 16. (Oct. 5) 14, 15, 35, 38, 42 and 46;
bonus 12.
---
Regional briefs:
Winnipeg Mayor
Brian Bowman called on employers to let workers go home early or not work at
all Friday as a “Colorado low” pounded Manitoba with heavy snow and high winds.
Residents were urged to avoid all non-essential travel.” There were power
outages to 50,000 customers in the province and 30,000 in Winnipeg. The unseasonal
weather dumped up to 3 feet of snow across the province and up to a foot in the
city.
- A Nova Scotia
family wants someone to cherish their late father’s prized collection of 8,000
country music records. Murray Deal of Fairview started collecting and making
music as a teenager. Daughter Amanda Jackson said the eclectic collection has
music from the 1940s to the 2000s. His favorites included Hank Williams,
Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash. They are asking $5,000 for “somebody
that will love it and appreciate it.”
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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