Back to newsletter list 13/02/2007 00:02:02 (UTC) Canada | World Briefs | Business News | Sports | Weather Headlines  - Canadian parliamentarians worry about Afghan commitment - Canadian govt. in new climate move - Govt. accused of judicial chicanery
OTTAWA: SENATORS HAVE RESERVATIONS ABOUT AFGHANISTAN MISSION The Senate defence committee says Canada should consider pulling out of Afghanistan unless NATO countries agree to deploy more troops there. The committee paints a bleak picture of a mission headed for failure, unless Canada and NATO do more to develop Afghanistan. A Senate report says Ottawa must send more than 300 additional police and military trainers to Kandahar. The committee is also calling for $20 million a year in development aid to be given to the military until aid organizations are able to function safely in the area. OTTAWA: GOVT. LAUNCHES CLIMATE INITIATIVE The Conservative Party government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has launched a federal-provincial initiative. The Canada Eco-Trust and Clean Air Fund will contain $1.5 billion. But Mr. Harper says the availability of the new funds depends on the three opposition parties in the House of Commons allowing the next federal budget to pass next month. The program would be on a cost-shared basis with the provinces. Mr. Harper also says the program would help redress what some provinces, including Quebec, see as a "fiscal imbalance." The prime minister made his announcement in the company of Quebec Premier Jean Charest, whose province would receive the first outlay of $350 million for climate and smog-fighting projects. Mr. Charest is expected to call an election soon, and the federal funds could be a boost to his Liberal Party government's campaign. The opposition parties didn't say how the fund would affect their own campaigns in the event of a federal election. The Liberals accuse the government of imitating a now defunct program of the former Liberal government, this time using it to buy votes in Quebec. The New Democratic Party has reserved judgment. OTTAWA: GOVT. ACCUSED OF PACKING THE BENCH The Conservative government was accused in the House of Commons on Monday of choosing members of the the panels in each province and territory which offer the federal government advice on the qualifications of potential judges by picking ones inclined to favour conservative-inclined judges. Liberal leader Stéphane Dion accused Mr. Harper's government of "stacking the committees" to select judges who will "cater to his neo-conservative agenda." Gilles Duceppe, the Bloc Québécois leader, and New Democratic Party justice critic Joe Comartin expressed similar sentiments. Justice Minister Rob Nicholson dismissed such concerns, saying the panel members are all public-spirited people who work for free and that in any case as justice minister he has the final say in nominations. The Globe and Mail newspaper reported on Monday that 16 of the last 31 nominations to the panels had Conservative Party links, while others had expressed right-of-centre views about the judiciary. TORONTO: AIR TRAVEL SECURITY BEING TIGHTENED Canadian Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day says the federal government has already begun to act on air safety recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organization. Mr. Day says Transport Canada has already implemented some of them and wants eventually to put all of them into effect. The comments were in reference to the publication by the Canadian Press of a confidential audit of operations at Pearson International Airport in Toronto in 2005 by the ICAO. The report found that some training programs, such as those for aircraft operators and cargo-handling companies, were "not comprehensive." The auditors also criticized the fact that there were no written instructions for the storage of mislaid luggage. Mr. Day made the remarks at Pearson, where he inaugurated a NEXUS enrolment centre and self-serve kiosk. The NEXUS system allows Canadians to use iris-recognition technology to bypass primary inspection lines when boarding a p***. Eventually, the technology will be available at other major airports across Canada. The pre-approval program can also be used at land and sea crossings. OTTAWA: SOLDIERS' WIDOWS IN FIGHT WITH BANKS Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said he has intervened with banks and insurance companies in the cases of widows of soldiers killed in Afghanistan who were told they would lose their mortgage insurance. The women were told that the insurance doesn't apply because their spouses died in combat. A Liberal Party MP raised the matter in the House of Commons. Mr. Flaherty said he had talked with the banks earlier Monday and that he was "shocked" to hear of the situation. The minister says he's waiting to receive an answer from the banks and expects them to be generous to the widows. QUEBEC CITY: GOVERNORS, PREMIERS MEET Environment and energy officials from six U.S. states and five eastern Canadian provinces are meeting to discuss their efforts to reduce greenhouse gases. In 2001, the same jurisdictions set themselves the ambitious goal to reduce their regional toxic emissions between then and 2010 to the levels of 1990. Since then, the emissions have risen by more than 11 per cent. OTTAWA: CANADA CONTRIBUTES TO WORLD CULTURE FUND Canada has become the second country after India to contribute financially to the future International Fund for Cultural Diversity. Its mandate will be to support cultural projects in developing nations. Canada's heritage minister, Bev Oda, says the amount of the contribution and its uses will be revealed at a later date. Canada was the first country to ratify UNESCO's Convention on Cultural Diversity, which allows governments to subsidize and to protect their countries' culture regardless of the rules of international trade. The treaty permits, among other things, the imposition of content quotas for radio and television. The treaty went into effect last Dec. 18 with its adoption by at least 30 nations. The U.S. opposes it as a pretext to exclude U.S. cultural products. OTTAWA: GOVT. WARY ON MEXICO TOURISM Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay is cautious in his attitude toward Canadians travelling to Mexico. He will only say that Canadians should research their travel destinations and go there if that is their choice. He also recommends travellers make contact with Canadian officials in countries they visit. Mr. MacKay was in Mexico last week to discuss bilateral issues with President Felipe Calderon. Mr. MacKay also raised recent cases of violence against Canadian tourists in Mexico. Several weeks ago, a young Canadian male tourist was killed in what Mexican police called a hit-and-run accident. But his family believes that he was beaten to death by a local gang. And in February 2006, a Canadian couple were found murdered in their hotel room in Cancun. Mexican officials say they are investigating the incidents. MONTREAL: RULING DUE ON LEGALITY OF CN STRIKE The Canada Industrial Relations Board will rule on Tuesday whether a four-day strike by almost 3,000 conductors and yard service workers employed by Canadian National Railway is legal. Both CN and the United Transportation Union say they'll abide by the result. CN filed a complaint with the Board on Saturday on grounds that the union's parent American parent union hadn't approved the walkout. The union argues that it followed Canadian labour law after 97 per cent of its members voted to strike. The union is demanding raises of 8.5 per cent over three years, but says the main issues concern working conditions. CN says its freight operations are operating normally despite the conflict. HEROUXVILLE: QUEBEC VILLAGE WELCOMES MUSLIM VISITORS Members of the Canadian Islamic Congress travelled on Sunday to the Quebec village of Hérouxville, where the local council recently created controversy by issuing rules for immigrants. The rules compel immigrants to understand local traditions and disallow foreign customs such as stoning women and wearing the Sikh ceremonial knife, the kirpan, to school. Wearing traditional headscarves, the Muslim delegation wanted to explain aspects of their culture to local residents at first hand and to dispel any false ideas. Hérouxville, which is about 165 kilometres from Montreal, has no immigrants among its residents. A member of the delegation, May Haider, said that the group was met warmly by local residents.
NORTH KOREA Six-party talks continue in Beijing in an effort to end North Korea's nuclear program. The main thrust of the talks is to fine-tune an agreement on disarmament in exchange for energy aid to Pyongyang. Meanwhile, China has issued a final text on how to begin abolishing North Korea's nuclear weapons program. The text was issued after a tentative agreement under which North Korea will freeze its main nuclear facilities within two months in return for alternative energy sources. The U.S. negotiator at the talks says the text has not yet been approved by the other five nations taking part in the talks. IRAQ At least 88 people were killed after bomb attacks at two popular markets in Baghdad. Police say 165 people were injured in the explosions. The attacks came as U.S. and Iraqi forces are about to launch a military offensive in Baghdad aimed at stopping the sectarian violence which has reached civil war proportions. Last month, U.S President George W. Bush announced the deployment of an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq in attempt to bring the situation under control. RUSSIA Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet on Tuesday in Jordan with King Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, as he ends his tour of the Middle East. The Russian news agency RIA cites Mr. Putin's top foreign policy adviser as saying that he'll discuss meeting the meeting between Mr. Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Feb. 18. Miss Rice is trying to restart the Middle East peace process. Mr. Putin made earlier stops in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, where he suggested that Russian foreign policy offered an alternative to U.S. "unilateralism" in the region, mentioning as an example the invasion of Iraq which only made the situation there worse. ISRAEL Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, said on Sunday that any future Palestinian unity government had to meet all of the conditions laid down by the Middle East peace quartet comprising the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia. He was reacting to a unity government accord signed by rival Palestinian factions in Mecca on Thursday. The peace quartet says that before resuming $1 billion in yearly aid, the Palestinians must recognize Israel, renounce violence and abide by past peace deals. SOMALIA The UN Security Council is considering a draft resolution presented by Britain that would authorize a peacekeeping force of troops supplied by the African Union to help the government of Somalia restore order. Somalia's transitional government expelled the Islamists who had seized power in Mogadishu and much of the country over the Christmas and New Year's period, but they have continued attacks. Several mortar rounds struck the capital on Monday. The resolution would also lift the arms embargo that has been in force since 1992 but imported weapons would be used only by the 8.000 AU soldiers. PERU Representatives from 10 Latin American countries are meeting in Lima, Peru, to discuss their countries' participation in the United Nations stabilization force in Haiti. The officials will exchange information on the Latin American participation in the 8,400-member military and police force. They will also discuss regional co-operation to help develop Haiti's economy and institutions. The UN's special envoy for Haiti, Edmond Mulet, and Organization of American States chief José Miguel Insulza will also attend the meeting. UN troops were deployed to Haiti in 2004 after then president Jean-Bertrand Aristide fled the country amid a popular uprising. GUINEA Guinea's president, Lansana Conte, has decreed martial law and ordered the army to re-establish order. At least 18 people were killed in violent protests on Monday, bringing the total to 104 since labour unions launched a general strike at the beginning of January to force the 72-year-old president to relinquish power. The violence had subsided last week after unions set a Monday deadline for the president to name a new prime minister. Clashes resumed after he nominated a close political ally.
CALGARY: ENCANA POISED TO RACK UP RECORD GAIN The Globe and Mail newspaper reports that energy firm EnCana Corp., Canada's largest, will on Thursday report the biggest corporate profit in Canadian history. According to the newspaper, EnCana will on Thursday report a profit of about $7.5 billion. The previous record of $5.46 billion was reported by BCE Inc. in 1999, at the height of the technology bubble. EnCana's principle product is natural gas, the prices of which have tripled since the 1990s. Those prices have enable the company to earn almost $20 billion since the beginning of 2003 BERLIN: BOMBARDIER IN RAIL DEAL WITH CHINA Canadian manufacturer Bombardier Inc. says its transport division has concluded a major deal with a Chinese railway. Bombardier Transportation is to supply 500 freight electric locomotives to Dalian Locomotives and Rolling Stock Co. for US$480 million. The first series of the propulsion and controls equipment will be manufactured in Europe but later production will be shifted to Bombardier's joint venture in China and to Dalian itself. Delivery of the locomotives is to start in 2009. TORONTO: HOTEL CHAIN AGREES TO TAKEOVER Canadian hotel chain Four Seasons has agreed to a friendly takeover offer of US$3.8 billion dollars by Saudi Prince al-Walid bin Talal and an investment firm control by Microsoft President Bill Gates. Stockholders of the chain, which operates 74 hotels in 31 countries, would receive US$82 a share. Four Seasons says its board of directors approved the offer unanimously. The shareholders will vote on the offer in April. In January 2006, Prince al-Walid and a group of American business people acquire the Fairmont Canadian chain of luxury hotels for US$3.9 billion. MONTREAL: URANIUM FIRMS MERGE Canadian mineral firm SXR Uranium will merge with its competitor UrAsia Energy. The two companies say the merger will create a company worth $US5 billion and be one of the world's biggest uranium firms. The new company will be called Uranium One Inc., trailing only behind Saskatchewan's Cameco Corp. in size. The new company claims to be the only such that has assets in the world's five major uranium-producing nations, Canada, the U.S., Australia, Kazakhstan and South Africa. The price of uranium has risen strongly in recent months amidst a global demand for nuclear energy caused by high prices for other fuels and attempt to reduce greenhouse gases. MARKETS TSX Monday: 13,041, down 43.41 points. Canadian dollar: US85.08, down 0.22 of a cent. Euro: C$1.5238, down 0.09 of a cent. Light sweet crude: US$57.81, down $2.08.
CURLING Some familiar names are in line for next month's Brier championship. Olympic champion Brad Gushue won the Newfoundland and Labrador title. Former world champion Jeff Stoughton captured the Manitoba title, and Olympic silver medallist Kevin Martin won the Alberta playdowns. Seven other provincial winners were crowned as well: Peter Gallant in Prince Edward Island, Paul Dobson in New Brunswick, and Mark Kehoe in Nova Scotia. Al Harnden won in Northern Ontario, Pat Simmons in Saskatchewan, Jamie Koe in the Territories, and Dean Joanisse in B.C. The Tim Hortons Brier starts March 3rd in Hamilton. BASKETBALL Steve Nash of Victoria, BC, won't play in Sunday's National Basketball Association all-star game because of a right shoulder injury. The league's two-time defending Most Valuable Player has missed the Phoenix Suns' last three games. OLYMPICS It's three years until Winter Olympics Games time. A countdown clock has been unveiled in Vancouver. The city is getting ready to host the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Weather British Columbia on Tuesday: rain south, snow north, forecast high 9 Celsius Vancouver. Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut: snow. Whitehorse -12, Yellowknife -20, Iqaluit -23. Alberta: snow south, mix of sun, cloud north. Saskatchewan, Manitoba: mostly sunny. Ontario: snow south, sunny north. Quebec: sunny. Toronto -13, Ottawa -16, Montreal -12. Atlantic Canada: sunny. Fredericton, Halifax -8, Charlottetown -7, St. John's -2.
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