Justin Trudeau suggests possible Quebec separatism interest

   Canada column for Sunday, Feb. 19/12

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   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Canadians are bristling after the son of late prime minister Pierre Trudeau suggested he might someday support separatism for Quebec.

   Justin Trudeau, 40-year-old Liberal Member of Parliament from Montreal, was commenting on the “values” of Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper in an interview.

   “I always say that if I ever believed Canada was really the Canada of Stephen Harper . . . maybe I’d think of wanting to make Quebec a country,” he said.

   In explaining his remarks later, Trudeau said it is “ridiculous” to question his devotion to a united Canada.

   It was merely the "tone and the values" of the Conservative government that pushed him to say what he did, he said.

   Independence-seeking Bloc Quebecois politicians were pleased by Trudeau’s “realization” that Quebec’s values are not shared by the federal government or the rest of Canada.

   Other federalist party members recalled that his father had been an archenemy of Quebec separatists.

Canada pushes ahead with talks to sell oil to China after lack of approval for a U.S. pipeline to Texas

   Canada column for Sunday, Feb. 12/12

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   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Canada has taken the first step toward a trade deal that could send massive amounts of crude oil to China instead of the United States.

   As Prime Minster Stephen Harper was holding talks in Beijing with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Newt Gingrich, Republican presidential candidate, urged Canada not to send its oil to China.

   "My message to the people of Canada is don't cut a deal with the Chinese, help is on the way," Gingrich said, condemning the U.S. administration for not approving the $7-billion Keystone XL pipeline.

   The project by TransCanada would have created 20,000 construction jobs and shipped about 700,000 barrels of crude a day to Texas refineries from Alberta.

   Environmentalists say the oilsands crude is “dirty” and the potential of a pipeline rupture would create an environmental disaster.

   Canada is now considering building a pipeline to British Columbia to deliver its oil to Asia by ship.

   "We'll get none of the jobs, none of the energy, none of the opportunity,” Gingrich said, vowing to approve the pipeline immediately if he becomes the next president.

   Harper’s visit led to a series of agreements that are expected to lead to free-trade talks with the “potential of greatly expanding Canadian growth and job creation.”

Winter is far from typical across Canada

   Canada column for Sunday, Feb. 5/12

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   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   “Winter, are we there yet?” is being asked by many Canadians this year.

   Dire predictions by Environment Canada of a “typical” winter with a lingering deep freeze and the Weather Network's expectation of temperature swings and fierce storms so far haven’t happened.

   Even Ontario’s Wiarton Willie and Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Sam, the weather-prognosticating groundhogs, didn't see their shadows with the folklore meaning there will be an early spring.

   An exception has been a week-long freeze in the Prairies last month where overall it’s been 10 to 14 degrees F above normal this winter.

   Much of Southern Ontario remains green with showers replacing snow storms and temperatures about 7 degrees above normal.

   Meteorologists say an "arctic oscillation" has kept the jet stream relatively stationary and blocked frigid temperatures from moving south.

   The government weather office says about 80 percent of the country will continue with above-normal temperatures this month.

   “We're almost ready to send out a search party to look for winter," said senior climatologist David Phillips.

Big shakeup looms for Canada's "old-age" pensions

   Canada column for Sunday, Jan. 29/12

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   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   “Major transformations” are coming, including the possibility of waiting longer to receive retirement benefits, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said.

   These changes to “position Canada for growth over the next generation” will be announced “in the months to come,” he told an international economic forum in Switzerland.

   There is concern that an aging population risks undermining the country’s economic position “well beyond the current economic crises,” he said.

   Details of such major and controversial plans weren’t disclosed but Harper continues to fuel speculation that the Old Age Security pension eligibility will be moved to 67 from 65.

   Making Canadians wait two years longer to receive their “old-age” pension is “completely unacceptable,” said New Democratic politician Peter Julian.

   “We do not accept the proposition that more Canadian seniors have to live in poverty or that Canadians have to work longer in order to access retirement,” he said.

   The number of Canadians aged 65 and older is expected to double to 9.3 million by 2030 with pension costs rising to $106 billion a year from $36 billion now.

Keystone XL oil pipeline to the U.S. might not be dead - yet

   Canada column for Sunday, Jan. 22/12

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   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Reports of the death of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline to supply Alberta crude oil to Texas refineries appear to be greatly exaggerated.

   Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed his “profound disappointment” to President Barack Obama for rejecting TransCanada’s proposed $7-billion pipeline.

   Obama was up against a political deadline for approving the project vigorously opposed by environmentalists and wanted more time for further reviews of the plans.

   In a phone call to Harper, Obama said TransCanada can submit an amended plan to reroute the pipeline around an environmentally sensitive aquifer in Nebraska.

   “This outcome is one of the scenarios we anticipated,” CEO Russ Girling said, adding that TransCanada would reapply for a presidential permit.

   Keystone is “in the best interests of both countries,” Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said.

   The controversy shows the need for Canada to diversify its energy markets, which it is attempting to do with China, he added.

   Proponents say the Keystone project would have created thousands of jobs in both countries and supplied energy to the U.S. from a trusted source.

Canada looks to China to sell oil, natural gas as U.S. stalls decision on Keystone XL pipeline

   Canada column for Sunday, Jan. 15/12

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   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Canada is now looking to Asian countries to market its abundance of oil, natural gas and minerals as plans to build the proposed Keystone XL pipeline have stalled with the U.S. administration.

   Prime Minister Stephen Harper will travel to China next month to discuss selling Canada’s bounty to the rapidly growing nation.

   The preferred initial plan was to build the $7-billion Keystone pipeline to deliver Alberta’s oilsands crude to refineries in Texas on the Gulf of Mexico.

   Harper reasoned that the U.S. government would prefer to deal with a friendly neighbor to help meet its energy needs while creating thousands of jobs.

   With widespread opposition by U.S. environmentalists, the Obama administration has delayed its decision on whether to approve the project proposed by energy giant TransCanada Pipelines.

   The new plan would market to China and Asian countries through the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline that would transport Alberta’s oil and natural gas to British Columbia for shipment by tankers.

   Environmentalists’ concerns about the Gateway project, proposed by Enbridge, are being reviewed at National Energy Board hearings underway in Kitimat, British Columbia.

More Canadians from British Columbia murdered in Mexico; Canada warns of travel to the country

   Canada column published on Sunday, Jan. 8/12

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   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Two British Columbia residents have been murdered in Mexico as the Canadian government continues to urge caution about travel to the country.

   The bodies of Carmen Ximena Osegueda Magana, 39, a PhD student at the University of British Columbia, and her Mexican boyfriend, Alejandro Honorio Santamaria, 38, were found partly buried at a beach in Huatulco.

   Police said they had been stabbed and their bodies set on fire, likely after being robbed.

   The Mexican-born Ximena Osegueda, as she was known in Canada, was in the country conducting research.

   Robin Wood, 67, a retired mechanic from Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, was killed last week by robbers in a home invasion at Melaque.

   Canada’s Foreign Affairs department said 112 Canadians were killed in accidents, murders, drownings or suicides in Mexico from 2006 to 2010.

   Travel warnings suggest Canadians should “exercise a high degree of caution due to a deteriorating security situation in many parts” of Mexico.

   It warns to “avoid non-essential travel” to the border areas between Mexico and the U.S. “due to continuously high levels of violence linked to organized crime.”

   Concerns about Mexico, though, didn’t defer Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay from marrying Iranian-born Nazanin Afshin-Jam, a human rights activist, over the holidays at a resort there.