Canada prepares to extend and expand fight

   Canada column for Sunday, March 29/15

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Canadians “cannot stand on the sidelines” in the war against the Islamic State in Syria, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said.

   It’s not appropriate to do nothing while fighters commit “atrocities in the Middle East and promote terrorism in Canada and against our allies,” he told the House of Commons.

   In presenting a motion to “extend and expand Canada’s military mission,” Harper said the country must continue with its allies to fight Islamic jihadism that “threatens national and global security.”

   The initial goal was modified as Harper said the plan now is based on a belief that Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has lost control of the country, allowing extremists to pose a clear threat to the international community.

   If approved by Parliament, in which Harper’s Conservatives have a majority, the new plan would expand airstrikes into Syria and extend the mission by a year.

   New Democratic Party Leader Tom Mulcair and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau both oppose the terms of Canada’s involvement in the war.

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Big boost for Canadian dollar over U.S. interest rate statement

   Canada column for Sunday, March 22/15

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Canada’s dollar got a big lift from signals the U.S. Federal Reserve isn’t in a hurry to increase interest rates.

   The announcement caused the U.S. dollar to weaken and boosted Canada’s currency to almost 80 cents U.S. after dipping to the 77-cent range, a six-year low.

   Also battering the dollar – that makes it more expensive for “snowbirds” and travel to the U.S. – are slumping oil prices as Canada is a major crude producer and exporter.

   Just in time for the spring house-buying season, the Bank of Montreal has cut its five-year, fixed-mortgage rate to 2.79 percent from 2.99 per cent.

   It’s the lowest-ever rate by one of the big banks but there are concerns about Canadians added to their growing debt load and overheated housing markets in Toronto and Vancouver.

   The average price of a detached house has risen to $1 million in Toronto while it’s $825,000 in Vancouver.

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Canada intends to deport Pakistani man labelled a would-be terrorist without a trial

   Canada column for Sunday, March 15/15

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   The Canadian government is moving to deport without a trial a Pakistani man accused of planning to bomb the U.S. Consulate and targets in the financial district of Toronto.

   Canada Border Services officers arrested Jahanzeb Malik, 33, saying he is an Islamic State sympathizer who planned to build remote-control bombs.

   Malik came to Canada in 2004 as a student and became a permanent resident in 2009.

   The Toronto flooring contractor is being held pending a hearing on Monday on whether he should be deported.

   Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney said only that Malik was “willing to commit a terrorist attack on Canadian soil.”

   Authorities haven’t said why they are seeking deportation instead of a trial, which his lawyer Anser Farooq called “absurd.”

   “He’s getting a one-way ticket out of Canada, that's what's going to happen,” he said.

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Interest rates steady -- for now

   Canada column for Sunday, March 8/15

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Predictions of another cut in Canada’s already low key interest rate hasn’t happened but some economists think it will next month.

   The Bank of Canada decided to hold the line on its trendsetting interest rate at 0.75 percent, citing improved economic conditions.

   Bank governor Stephen Poloz surprised the markets last month by dropping the rate by 0.25 percent from 1 percent where it had been for four years.

   As an oil-producing nation, that cut was “necessary as insurance” as much lower crude prices could be negative for the economy, he said.

   This gave the bank time to assess the impact of oil’s decline, while financial conditions have “eased materially” since then partly in response to the rate cut, Poloz added.

   There has since been stronger performance in non-energy exports and investment, with core inflation near its 2 percent target.

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Canada-U.S. relations cooling off after pipeline decision

   Canada column for Sunday, March 1/15

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Just like the weather, the relationship between Canada and the United States is “as cool as I can remember.”

   Allan Gotlieb, Canada’s elder statesmen of former ambassadors to the U.S., gave that assessment after President Barack Obama vetoed legislation to build the Keystone XL pipeline.

   Gotlieb, 86, was ambassador in Washington from 1981 to 1989 and even with cross-border differences, U.S. presidents paid special attention to Canada-U.S. issues, he said.

   Unlike other presidents, Obama has only made one bilateral visit to Canada – the largest trading partner with the U.S. – in his first month in office, he added.

   The Keystone pipeline project, which would carry 800,000 barrels of Alberta crude oil a day to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries, has been “handled with considerable insensitivity,” Gotlieb said.

   It could be that Obama “sees his legacy, maybe, as standing up to big oil and Canada's interests are secondary,” he added.

   “We're still partners – and like every partnership, there are challenges – and yes, there are opportunities,” Bruce Heyman, U.S. ambassador to Canada, said in a speech to the Chamber of Commerce in Ottawa, Canada’s capital.

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Two held for alleged Halifax massacre facing additional charges

   Canada column for Sunday, Feb. 22/15

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Two people arrested for allegedly planning a “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” at a Halifax shopping mall are facing additional charges.

   Mounties say that Randall Shepherd, 20, of Halifax and Lindsay Souvannarath, 23, of Geneva, Ill., were arrested for conspiracy to commit murder.

   At a court appearance when they were remanded in custody to March 6, additional counts were added for conspiracy to commit arson, illegal possession of weapons and making a threat through social media.

   It is believed the accused were planning to open fire on people at the Halifax Shopping Center on Feb. 14 and then kill themselves, police said.

   Halifax police Chief Jean-Michel Blais said the two had extensive plans and the means to carry them out.

   The investigation suggests those plans, which were thwarted in time after someone calling in a tip to the police, involved James Gamble, 19, who was found dead in his Halifax home.

   A social networking website believed linked to Gamble showed photos of weapons, Nazi symbols and images relating to the Columbine High School shooting.

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Oil price financial crisis worsens for Alberta

   Canada column for Sunday, Feb. 15/15

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Alberta, Canada’s oil-rich province, is reeling over a drastic drop in crude prices that will lead to “deep” cuts in spending and jobs.

   Finance Minister Robin Campbell said upcoming budget cuts will be “wide and deep.”

   Edmonton has now withdrawn its bid to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games after the province said it can no longer afford its $1-billion share of the cost.

   Premier Jim Prentice said the slide in oil prices over the last six months has resulted in a $7-billion loss to the provincial treasury.

   “We will make the tough decisions we have to in reducing government spending,” he said, adding that doing nothing would add $20 billion in debt over the next three years.

   Budget cuts are estimated at nine percent along with a five-percent cut in government department spending in the next year, Campbell said.

   Core services such as health care, education and seniors and children’s programs would continue while another option is to increase the 10-percent personal income flat tax.

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