Trudeau Liberals win minority government as before in Canadian election

    Canada column for Sunday, Sept. 26/21

    THE CANADIAN REPORT

   By Jim Fox

    Much remains the same as Canadians elected a Liberal minority government while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prepares to recall Parliament.

   Trudeau’s Liberals easily defeated his major opponent, Erin O’Toole’s Conservatives, in Monday’s vote, 159-119.

   It wasn’t the majority government Trudeau was seeking so the government will again have to rely on the socialist New Democrats for support on major bills to head off a non-confidence vote and another election.

   There was much criticism that Trudeau called a general election during a pandemic but he said it was necessary to get a mandate to continue from Canadians, even as the vote cost $610 million to hold.

   “You are sending us back to work with a clear mandate to get Canada through this pandemic and to the brighter days ahead,” he said as his victory was confirmed.

   Trudeau, 49, Prime Minister for six years through three elections, is the son of the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

   He called on Canadians to “stand together” and to work for “real climate action, $10-a-day child care, affordable homes for middle-class families and for our shared journey on the path of reconciliation.”

    ---

    Canadian voters have elected the first Green Party Member of Parliament from Ontario while defeating the environmental party’s leader.

   Mike Morrice of Kitchener-Center won one of two seats for the party along with former Green leader Elizabeth May of Saanich-Gulf Islands in British Columbia.

   The party’s current leader, Annamie Paul, failed to win in her Toronto district, finishing fourth to Liberal incumbent Marci Ien.

   Greens are involved in issues such as social justice, the environment and nonviolence that are related to world peace.

    ---

    News in brief:

   - Plans are moving ahead to change the name of Ryerson University in Toronto over its namesake’s connection to Canada’s residential school system. The schools were government sponsored to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian culture years ago. The university’s board of governors endorsed removing references to Ryerson. The board said it is in keeping with “Egerton Ryerson’s history and legacy.” The calls to change the institution’s name intensified in recently after more than 1,300 unmarked graves of Indigenous children were found on the former sites of the schools.

    ---

   Facts and figures:

   Canada’s dollar is steady at 78 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.28 in Canadian funds before exchange fees.

   The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate is unchanged at 0.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.45 percent.

   Canadian stock markets are lower, with the Toronto index at 20,394 points and the TSX Venture index at 878 points.

   The average price for gas in Canada is lower at $1.37 a liter (Canadian) or $5.20for a U.S. gallon.

   Lotto Max: (Sept. 21) 4, 8, 11, 14, 15, 34 and 45; bonus 7. (Sept. 17) 3, 6, 10, 26, 29, 35 and 45; bonus 30.

   Lotto 6/49: (Sept. 22) 5, 14, 19, 30, 38 and 40; bonus 27.  (Sept. 18) 9, 26, 29, 36, 40 and 41; bonus 27.

    ---

   Regional briefs:

   - They’re calling in the Canadian Armed Forces and help from other provinces to Alberta's overwhelmed intensive-care units under attack by the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Federal Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said the Canadian Red Cross might also be activated. Aircraft and crews are transferring patients to hospitals in other parts of the country. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has apologized for mishandling the pandemic and opening up the province too early. He also announced a vaccine passport system now in effect.

   - Damage is approaching $77 million in insurance claims by a wildfire that began on Aug. 2 in British Columbia. It has grown to consume 325 square miles and is known as the White Rock Lake fire. The Insurance Bureau of Canada said the fire has destroyed 78 properties in Central Okanagan. It has become one of the most destructive blazes in the province this year and is expected to result in more than 800 claims. Fire fighters say it is now “under control.”

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 Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com

Minority government predicted for Canadian election

    Canada column for Sunday, Sept. 19/21

    THE CANADIAN REPORT

   By Jim Fox

    Canada appears headed to electing another minority government in the general election on Monday (Sept. 20).

   Polls show a virtual tie for Prime Minister/Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and Erin O’Toole’s Conservatives.

   The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. poll tracker shows the Liberals and Conservatives are effectively tied at 31 percent with a small edge given to the Liberals.

   “Justin Trudeau’s party is favored to win the most seats and has roughly a three-in-five chance of being re-elected with (another) minority government.

   “The Conservatives are holding their support but are trailing in some key battlegrounds while New Democratic support is rising and the party could see a big increase in its seat count.

   The Bloc Quebecois has recovered from a slide in support but the surge appears to have stalled.

   The Peoples Party of Canada (PPC) and Green vote has steadied in single digits in recent days,” it said.

   Trudeau’s campaign stops have been dogged by PPCand anti-vaccine protesters to the point where he was pelted with rocks and obscene chants and gestures in London, Ontario.

   The opposition parties have made a big issue with Trudeau saying he wouldn’t hold an election during the pandemic but now says he needed a clear message on policies from voters.

    ---

    Two socialist New Democratic Party (NDP) candidates have resigned after posting “anti-semitic” social media comments.

   As well, a Liberal has left the race over allegations of unwanted sexual advances and inappropriate comments in his office.

   NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said the comments by two of his party’s candidates were “completely wrong and we’ll confront it.”

   Out of the race are Dan Osborne of Nova Scotia Cumberland-Colchester and Sidney Coles of Toronto’s St. Paul.

   In Ontario’s Kitchener Center, Raj Saini has ended his bid for re-election and left the Liberal party while saying abuse allegations are “unequivocally false.”

    ---

    News in brief:

   Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has declared a public health emergency for his province while apologizing for his efforts that failed to control the pandemic.

   The emergency comes with strict new limits on gatherings and a vaccine passport as the province is at risk of exhausting intensive care beds and staff within 10 days, he said.

   “With unvaccinated patients overwhelming our hospitals, this is now the only responsible choice that we have,” he added.

   Alberta lifted almost all public health restrictions two months ago and faces skyrocketing COVID-19 outbreaks with 18,000 active cases, the most of any province.

   Kenney now says that lifting the restrictions was the wrong move.

    ---

   Facts and figures:

   Canada’s dollar is lower at 78 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.28 in Canadian funds before exchange fees.

   The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate is unchanged at 0.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.45 percent.

   Canadian stock markets are lower, with the Toronto index at 20,493 points and the TSX Venture index at 886 points.

   The average price for gas in Canada is steady at $1.385 a liter (Canadian) or $5.26 for a U.S. gallon.

   Lotto Max: (Sept. 14) 17, 24, 27, 33, 38, 41 and 48; bonus 39. (Sept. 10) 11, 28, 38, 40, 43, 45 and 48; bonus 33.

   Lotto 6/49: (Sept. 15) 7, 11, 14, 15 and 27 and 41; bonus 49. (Sept.11) 15, 18, 31, 33, 34 and 41; bonus 45.

    ---

    Regional briefs:

   - The Ontario government is cracking down on partying students at colleges and universities as it updates sexual violence policies on reporting incidents and enforcement. This follows an investigation into reports that possibly up to 30 female students were drugged and assaulted at parties at Western University in London, Ontario. “We let our students and their families down,” said university president Alan Shepard. Administrators supported a student walkout on Friday to show support for survivors of sexual violence and confront the issue.

   - British Columbia has lifted the wildfire state of emergency. It was put in place July 20 after one of the worst wildfire seasons on record with 1,585 blazes. That was after the town of Lytton and surrounding countryside burned to the ground.

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 Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com

Canadian prime minister hit with verbal insults, rocks during election campaign

    Canada column for Sunday, Sept. 12/21

    THE CANADIAN REPORT

   By Jim Fox

    Attacks against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have become more violent as Canada is two weeks away from a federal election.

   Anti-vaccine protesters have dogged Trudeau’s rallies with loud obscene chants and gestures throughout the campaign.

   Now they pelted him with rocks as he left a rally in London, Ontario.

   Trudeau was heading toward his bus and acknowledged that he was hit by chunks of gravel thrown in his direction.

   At his next stop in Montreal, he said he won’t let “anti-vaxxer mobs” stop him from his outdoor campaigning for the Sept. 20 election.

   “This is absolutely unacceptable and that’s not how we do things in Canada,” he said.

   Trudeau said he is “inspired by those people who continue to do the right thing in the face of anti-vaxxer mob.”

   The People’s Party of Canada has removed Shane Marshall, president of the local riding association, alleging he was involved in the rock throwing.

    ---

    Canada recorded impressive gains as the economic recovery continues with 90,000 new jobs last month.

   Statistics Canada said most of those employment gains were in the private sector for the third consecutive monthly increase.

   This resulted in the jobless rate falling to 7.1 percent for the month, down from 7.5 percent in July.

   The rate is the lowest since the pandemic began last year, with gains largely in full-time work in services such as accommodation and food services.

   On Labor Day, campaigning political leaders had varying ideas about support for workers as the “profound effect” of the virus is transforming the market for jobs.

    ---

    News in brief:

   - Toys ‘R Us is alive and well in Canada with plans for several new smaller stores and looks for “significant growth,” said spokesman Frank Juhasz. A major hurdle has been that consumers believed wrongly the retailer closed all its stores as happened in the U.S. and Great Britain in 2018, he said. There is also a new emphasis on online shopping for Canadians. The chain has83 locations in Canada.

    ---

     Facts and figures:

   Canada’s dollar is lower at 79 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.26 in Canadian funds before exchange fees.

   The Bank of Canada again has kept its key interest rate unchanged at 0.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.45 percent.

   Canadian stock markets are lower, with the Toronto index at 20,667 points and the TSX Venture index 903 points.

   The average price for gas in Canada is steady at $1.385 a liter (Canadian) or $5.26 for a U.S. gallon.

   Lotto Max: (Sept. 7) 5, 8, 31, 36, 41, 42 and 43; bonus 39. (Sept 3) 1, 2, 4, 10, 27, 33 and 45; bonus 31.

   Lotto 6/49: (Sept. 8) 2, 7, 10, 16, 28 and 36; bonus 41. (Sept. 4) 6, 13, 18, 19, 29 and 49; bonus 2.

    ---

    Regional briefs:

   - There are 28 candidates in the race for mayor of Calgary now that Naheed Nenshi, one of Canada’s longest-serving mayors, first elected in 2010, isn’t seeking re-election. One of the latest candidates to join the race for the Oct. 28 election is former Member of Parliament Kent Hehr. He served two terms for the Liberals in 2015 and was defeated in 2019. Also in the race are current city councillors Jeromy Farkas, Jeff Davison and Jyoti Gondek.

   - One person was arrested after someone set a fire inside a Walmart store in Kitchener, Ontario causing $3 million in smoke and physical damage. It was the third such fire causing extensive damage at Walmarts in the city since last year and the second at this Sunrise Center location. Two young men were arrested in those incidents that caused $12 million in damage. In this fire, police arrested a 42-year-old woman after fires were set in the toilet paper section and an outdoor dumpster.

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 Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com

Canadian entrepreneur pays to resettle 50 Afghan refugees in Toronto area

   Canada column for Sunday, Sept. 5/21

    THE CANADIAN REPORT

   By Jim Fox

    A Toronto-area businessman and philanthropist will cover half of the estimated $1.5-million cost of resettling 50 Afghan refugees in Canada.

   Jim Estill, CEO of the Danby appliance manufacturing company, did the same earlier when he helped 50 Syrian refugee families start a new life in Guelph, a city west of Toronto.

   He is partnering with the Hazaras aid organization to split the cost and is looking for some assistance from the Canadian government.

   His plans became known after the Taliban takeover when he started working with organizations and federal government agencies.

   Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said Canada is resettling 20,000 vulnerable Afghans threatened by the Taliban and forced to flee Afghanistan.

   “They find safety here as the situation in Afghanistan is heartbreaking and Canada will not stand idly by,” he said.

   But it is said many have been left behind among Canadian citizens, interpreters and their families.

    ---

    Growing numbers of Canadian doctors and nurses say they are frustrated with large groups of anti-vaccination protesters outside hospitals.

   They say limited health-care resources are being used to save the lives of those who decided not to protect themselves against COVID-19 with a vaccine.

   “I think it’s the ultimate selfishness that individuals choose not to vaccinate themselves,” said Dr. Steven Fedder of Richmond, British Columbia.

   “I think they don't realize they are too arrogant to understand that we live in a society where we all have to make sacrifices,” he said.

   The number is growing of businesses, universities, colleges and work places that require their workers to be vaccinated along with the provinces, now including hold-out Ontario and Quebec, launching vaccine certificates to show those who are immunized and can access non-essential businesses.

    ---

    News in brief:

   - Canada’s underdog  Conservatives could be headed to win the Sept. 20 election as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau falters, pollsters say. They suggest the Conservatives under leader Erin O’Toole could, however form only a minority government as the Liberals did two years ago. An Ipsos poll found 32 percent support for the Conservatives while the Liberals dropped two points to 31 percent, and the socialist New Democrats had 23 percent.

   - Another poll suggests Canadians are divided on whether the reopening of in-person learning at elementary and high schools is a good idea. There was also a split on concerns they have about the pandemic’s Delta variant.

    ---

     Facts and figures:

   Canada’s dollar is higher at 80 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.25 in Canadian funds before exchange fees.

   The Bank of Canada key interest rate remains at 0.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.45 percent.

   Canadian stock markets are higher, with the Toronto index at 20,806 points and the TSX Venture index 915 points.

   The average price for gas in Canada is higher at $1.385 a liter (Canadian) or $5.26 for a U.S. gallon.

   Lotto Max: (Aug. 31) 3, 11, 23, 26, 31, 42 and 50; bonus 24. (Aug. 27) 9, 10, 13, 25, 41, 47 and 49; bonus 36.

   Lotto 6/49: (Sept. 1) 3, 4, 14, 18, 19 and 42; bonus 43. (Aug. 28) 6, 8, 9, 12, 19 and 26; bonus 43.

    ---

    Regional briefs:

   - In his final days as Manitoba Premier, Brian Pallister said before he officially retires on Oct 31, there are two special projects to complete. Pallister, 67, will donate $260,000 personally for scholarships at Brandon University, his alma mater. As well, his Conservative government will spend $7.5 million for infrastructure upgrades at the International Peace Gardens on the border with North Dakota.

   - Canada’s Atlantic provinces got another soaker with heavy rain but little major damage as the remnants of Hurricane Ida made its way over the east coast from Thursday night into the weekend. Weather forecasters said there was heavy rain of up to three inches. There were also “brisk easterly winds” and isolated thunderstorms along with some power outages.

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Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com

 

 

Canada rescues stranded Canadians, others from Afghnistan

    Canada column for Sunday, Aug 29/21

    THE CANADIAN REPORT

   By Jim Fox

    Canada’s now-paused military air-lift mission has rescued about 3,700 Canadians and others from war-torn Afghanistan.

   They were relocated to Canada aboard military airplanes and included citizens, interpreters and their families but many have been left behind.

   Canada’s effort to airlift those fleeing Taliban rule out of Afghanistan has come to an end, “until such a time that the security situation stabilizes,” said General Wayne Eyre, acting chief of the defense staff.

   Most of the Canadian personnel still in the country left Hamid Karzai International Airport early Friday while some remained behind to support allies.

   In a message to those remaining, Eyre said “be mindful of the security environment and where possible, take the necessary steps to ensure your security and that of your family.”

   The notice from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said that “evacuation operations are done and at this time and no further evacuation flights are being planned.”

   The government of Canada “recognizes that there are a number of people in Afghanistan, including Canadian citizens, permanent residents, their families and applicants under programs for Afghans,” it said.

    ---

    The ruling Liberals seeking re-election on Sept. 20 are in a statistical tie with the Conservatives at 33 percent in polls.

   They’re followed by the New Democrats with 19.9 percent, the Bloc Quebecois, 5.3 percent, the Greens, 4.6 percent, and the People’s Party of Canada, 3.1 percent.

   Support for the next prime minister remains close with Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau at 32.4 percent, followed by Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole, 27.4 percent and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, 18.1 percent.

    A major issue has become proof-of-vaccine passports. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a billion-dollar fund to help provinces create their own documents to show that someone has been vaccinated against COVID-19.

   ---

    News in brief:

   - A re-elected Liberal government would raise corporate taxes on banks and insurance companies as a new “recovery dividend” to raise $2.5 billion a year. Taxing Canada’s largest and most-profitable financial services firms would help pay for a promised multi-billion-dollar housing program. Those companies have recovered from the pandemic better than others, Prime Minister Trudeau said.

   - Documents obtained by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. show the Ontario government was warned about visibility issues with its new-and-now discontinued much-maligned blue automobile plates. Recommendations were ignored to improve the readability. The expensive rollout led to the plates being discontinued after being widely criticized by the police and drivers.

    ---

     Facts and figures:

   Canada’s dollar is higher at 79 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.26 in Canadian funds before exchange fees.

   The Bank of Canada key interest rate remains at 0.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.45 percent.

   Canadian stock markets are higher, with the Toronto index at 20,638 points and the TSX Venture index 885 points.

   The average price for gas in Canada is steady at $1.38 a liter (Canadian) or $5.24 for a U.S. gallon.

   Lotto Max: (Aug. 24) 1, 24, 26, 29, 30, 45 and 50; bonus 5. (Aug. 20) 2, 6, 21, 31, 34, 39 and 45; bonus 33.

   Lotto 6/49: (Aug. 25) 1, 6, 34, 37, 41 and 48; bonus 21. (Aug. 21) 2, 9, 15, 21, 38 and 46; bonus 36.

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    Regional briefs:

   - The remnants of Tropical Storm Henri brought rain and wind to Canada’s Maritime provinces. The Canadian Hurricane Center said the storm slowly made its way from Boston and the U.S. east coast. While it didn’t bring high winds, there were warnings about rip tides along Nova Scotia’s Atlantic coast.

   - Beekeepers in British Columbia are on the lookout for invading Asian giant hornets. A nest of them was found and destroyed along the border with the United States. Their sting is dangerous to humans as the bees can grow to the size of a small hummingbird and destroy honeybee hives. They were first found in Canada a few years ago on Vancouver Island.

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Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com