Canada column for Sunday, June 6/21
THE CANADIAN REPORT
By Jim Fox
The horrible truth has come out about Canada’s former Aboriginal schools with the discovery of the mass graves of 215 children in British Columbia.
The shocking discovery has led to demands for an apology from the Roman Catholic Church and police investigations nationally to see if there are more graves elsewhere.
The Epekwitk Mi’kmaq Chiefs said they found the remains at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School that operated between 1890 and 1978, housing as many as 500 children at a time.
Canada’s residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples with the goal of assimilating them into society.
The network of 132 schools was funded by the federal Department of Indian Affairs and administered by Christian churches and housed150, 000 children taken from their parents between 1857 and 1996.
A national outcry with the public display of 215 pairs of children’s shoes followed along with demands the government investigate the grounds of other schools for unmarked graves.
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The Canadian government is increasing the fines for people who ignore the mandatory quarantine hotel program when flying back to Canada.
A violation of the Quarantine Act now has a maximum fine of $5,000, up from $3,000.
This is for travelers who have refused to submit to the quarantine process.
That involves taking a COVID-19 test at the airport and then staying in a designated hotel for up to three days to await the result at a cost of up to $2,000.
The Public Health Agency of Canada said 798 fines were issued between Feb. 22 and May 7 in Ontario and British Columbia.
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News in brief:
- A plan to offer Canadians surplus vaccine has been approved for special clinics to be set up in the auto tunnel linking Windsor, Ontario and Detroit. Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens’s idea was to hold COVID-19 vaccination clinics in the tunnel using Detroit supplies about to expire as his city awaits more from the Canadian government. This arrangement will allow Canadians to avoid crossing into the U.S. and face quarantine on their return.
- Canada’s economy lost 68,000 jobs in May due to lockdowns to slow the spread of the pandemic. Statistics Canada said the job losses followed 207,000fewer jobs in April and left the unemployment rate relatively steady at 8.2 percent last month.
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Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar is lower at 82 cents U.S. and a U.S. dollar returns $1.16 in Canadian funds before exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada key interest rate is 0.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.45 percent.
Canadian stock markets are higher, with the Toronto index at 19,941 points and the TSX Venture index 969 points.
The average price for gas in Canada is steady at $1.30 a liter (Canadian) or $4.94 for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto Max: (June 1) 6, 20, 21, 28, 38, 43 and 47; bonus 40. (May 28) 7, 18, 22, 40, 44, 46 and 50; bonus 5.
Lotto 6/49: (June 2) 1, 13, 22, 32, 33 and 39; bonus 48. (May 29) 11,18,19, 27, 34 and 46; bonus 42.
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Regional briefs:
- Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, the home of Canadian Confederation from 1864, no longer has its controversial statue of Sir John A. Macdonald. The statue of Canada’s first Prime Minister was removed from a downtown intersection on orders from city council. This was in response to recent revelations about Canada’s residential school system and his endorsement of the program.
- The cross-country rivalry continues as the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League won their first-round playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. True to their words, Toronto Mayor John Tory and Montreal’s Valerie Plante had a side bet. Toronto will fly the Canadiens’ flag outside city hall . Tory is also sending along a gift box including a back bacon sandwich from Carousel Bakery at the St. Lawrence Market and six-pack of beer from Great Lakes Brewery.
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Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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