Back to newsletter list 28/03/2007 23:49:59 (UTC) Canada | World Briefs | Business News | Sports | Weather Headlines  - Canadian coasts said to be defenceless - Ottawa ignores Palestinian visitor - Quotas for seal hunt to be made public
OTTAWA: CANADIAN COASTS CALLED UNPROTECTED The Senate has again issued a report decrying security gaps, this time along Canada's 243,000-kilometre borders. The report by the Senate committee on national security and defence says the country's perimeter comprises thousands of kilometres with hundreds of harbours that mostly go unwatched, a situation that makes it easier for terrorists or criminals to enter the country. The document calls the Canadian Coast Guard "toothless" and lacking the experience, equipment or the mandate to police the borders, with the Great Lakes being patrolled by only one federal police boat and two Coast Guard vessels leaving, most surveillance to local police. The senators say the federal government's plan to send naval patrols to the Arctic to bolster Canada's sovereignty claims are a waste of the navy's limited resources, and that in any case the conflicting national claims to areas of the Arctic can only be settled through negotiation not gunboat diplomacy. Last week, the same committee issued separate reports deploring security problems at airports and ports. MONTREAL: FEDERAL MINISTER JUSTIFIES QUEBEC TAX CUT Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says Quebec Premier Jean Charest did nothing wrong in using a transfer of federal money to finance a personal income tax reduction. Mr. Flaherty says there's nothing in the Constitution to prevent Quebec from allowing taxpayers a reduction amounting to $700 million from the $2.3 billion which the province received as an federal "equalization" payment announced in the federal budget on Monday of last week. Mr. Charest made his announcement in the recent provincial election campaign. The equalization program is meant to enable the "have-not" provinces to offer services comparable to those available in the richer provinces. A number of commentators said that both ministers were using the transaction for political purposes. Mr. Flaherty says he's always happy when governments reduce taxes but acknowledged that announcements of such reductions during an election campaign are risky. The fate of Mr. Charest's tax cut is uncertain because the new official opposition party, l'Action Démocratique, has said it might not support the measure. OTTAWA: GOVT. SHUNS PALESTINIAN The Canadian government has refused contact in the capital with the Palestinian information minister, Mustapha Barghouti. Mr. Barghouti says Foreign Minister Peter MacKay refused to meet him, a revelation which a spokesman for the minister has confirmed. The visitor met instead with members of the three opposition parties represented in the House of Commons. Canada was the first country to suspend aid to the Palestinian Authority government led by the Hamas movement, which the Canadian government considers a terrorist organization. Mr. MacKay's spokesman says that attitude hasn't changed. Mr. Barghouti says he hopes the formation of a coalition government with the Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will "end the siege on the Palestinian people" and lead to normal relations with Canada. The Israeli government, meanwhile, has urged the world community to maintain its boycott of that government until it recognizes Israel, renounces violence and respects past peace accords. FREDERICTON: SEAL QUOTA TO BE ANNOUNCED The Canadian government will announce on Thursday quotas for this year's annual east coast seal hunt. There has been speculation that the hunt may be scaled back because of poor ice conditions in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. The department of fisheries and oceans has acknowledged that much of the ice in the area has broken up and the the mortality of seal pups will consequently be 100,000 pups higher than usual. Seal pups cannot swim for their first three weeks of life and need thick ice to survive and to feed. The International Fund for Animal Welfare and the Humane Society of the United States have demanded that the government cancel the hunt. It is expected to continue as usual in the northern Gulf and along the coast of Newfoundland. TORONTO: HEALTH ALERT ISSUED FOR 'PREDATOR' FISH Health Canada has advised consumers to eat less of six species of "predator" fish to protect themselves against mercury poisoning. The warning is being issued for fresh and frozen tuna, shark, swordfish, escolar, marlin and orange roughy, the flesh of which contain more mercury because they live longer, grow bigger and feed on smaller fish which may themselves contain mercury. The department has also imposed a requirement that fish of the "predator" type contain no more than one part per million of mercury, and advised people not to eat more than 150 grams of it a week. Health Canada said it has both offered a recommendation and issued a directive because consumers are eating that type more commonly than in the past, partly because of the popularity of sushi bars. CAIRO: ESPIONAGE VERDICT DELAYED A court has delayed its verdict until April 21 in the case of a Canadian accused in Egypt of espionage on behalf of Israel. The judge in the case announced the delay after a summation by Mohamed el-Attar's defence lawyer, a development which the lawyer called on good sign. The verdict had been expected on Wednesday. The Toronto resident was arrested in January during a visit to his native Egypt. OTTAWA: POPPY CROPS RECOMMENDED FOR FARMERS Farmers in western Canada could soon be lobbying the federal government for a new crop to grow alongside wheat and barley. A biology professor at the University of Calgary in the province of Alberta says Canada could save some $100 million a year if farmers grow opium poppies, the raw material which is used to produce strong pain killers such as morphine. Dr. Peter Facchini says that in Australia, farmers growing poppies can earn up to seven times as much as they can growing grain. UNDATED: BARLEY FARMERS VOTE AGAINST MONOPOLY Farmers in western Canada have voted to end the Canadian Wheat Board's monopoly on barley sales. Just over 29,000 farmers cast ballots. About 62 per cent opposed the monopoly. Federal Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl will now take steps to amend the Canadian Wheat Board Act to remove the barley monopoly. MONTREAL: NEW AIR CANADA P*** TO MARK AIRLINE'S 70TH BIRTHDAY Air Canada's new Boeing 777 jetliner will make its inaugural flight into Canada on Saturday in time to mark the airline's 70th anniversary. The 349-seat p*** is scheduled to land at Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. Canada's biggest airline calls it a more cost-efficient airp*** than those now in its fleet. The p*** is expected to serve new international markets, providing non-stop service between Toronto and London next month, followed by additional service to Frankfurt, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Direct flights between Vancouver and Sydney will begin in December. Eight of the aircraft will be delivered this year and another 17 will arrive by the end of 2008. Air Canada is also buying 45 new Embraer 190 aircraft. The airline is spending $3 billion on acquisitions and on upgrading its assets. HALIFAX: EASTERN CANADA URGED TO HELP IMMIGRANTS A paper released by the Halifax-based Atlantic Institute for Market Studies says Canada's Atlantic provinces need to offer more immigration advice, marketing materials, and websites in a number of languages. The paper focuses on business immigrants from China. It also says the immigration process needs to be expedited. As well, more workplace internships and language training should be offered. The paper's author, John Huang, says the strategy would not only boost the region's reputation in China, but encourage immigrants from other countries to come to the region to live. The paper also suggests encouraging students who come to Atlantic Canada for school to stay and work once they've completed their studies.
IRAQ The death toll from a revenge shooting rampage in the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar has risen to 70. Another 40 people are missing and 30 wounded. Officials say the attack was an apparent reprisal for two truck bombings bombings in a Shi'ite area on Tuesday that killed some 55 people. IRAN Britain has offered evidence that 15 of its sailors and marines held by Iran were wrongly captured last week. British Defence officials say they have satellite data which proves 15 navy personnel being held in Iran were 1.7 nautical miles inside Iraqi waters when they were seized. They say Iran's actions were unjustified and wrong. The British naval personnel are operating in Persian Gulf waters under a mandate enacted by the UN aimed at stopping ships smuggling arms or fighters into Iraq. Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair is warning Iran that the standoff will enter a different phase if diplomatic efforts fail to secure the release of the sailors. Iran maintains the Britons had intruded into its waters when the incident occurred. SAUDI ARABIA Arab leaders have begun a two-day summit in Riyadh aimed at restarting a Middle East peace plan which Saudi Arabia launched in 2002. The plan offers Israel official recognition if it withdraws to its 1967 borders and accepts a "just solution" to the problem of Palestinian refugees. The Saudi foreign minister, Saud al-Faisal, says Israel must accept the offer, failing which it would have to be assumed that it doesn't want peace. Israel rejected the plan in 2002, but Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said last week that it could be accepted with some changes. RUSSIA U.S. President George W. Bush and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Wednesday had a telephone conversation to discuss their governments' disagreement over the U.S. plan to place anti-missile facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic to guard against missile attacks from states like Iran or North Korea. Russia opposes the idea as a threat to its national security. After the telephone conversation, the Russian government issued a statement saying that Mr. Putin laid out Russia's objections but that he was pleased by the U.S. offer to hold "detailed discussion on this subject." The White House says Mr. Bush told the Russian leader that missile defence in Europe would target a threat from an evolving missile threat from the Middle East, a development which threatens Russia as well. NIGERIA A tanker truck has exploded in northwestern Nigeria, killing 89 people. More than 100 others were injured. The victims were trying to scoop fuel from the truck that had earlier flipped over. The truck was carrying 33,000 liters of gasoline. ZIMBABAWE Police surrounded the headquarters in Harare of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change and briefly arrested its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai. The Reuters news agency reports that officers confiscated at least two computer monitors and put several people from the headquarters into a bus. A police spokesman told the agency that 10 MDC people had been arrested on suspicion of involvement in several gasoline bombings. Thirty-five people have been arrested in connection with the bombings. African leaders are meeting in Tanzania for two days to discuss the situation in Zimbabwe. Opposition parties in South Africa have demanded that the government take a harder line on Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe. NORTH KOREA The director of the United States spy agency says North Korea's nuclear test last October was a failure. Michael Hayden of the Central Intelligence Agency says he does not believe that the North is a credible nuclear weapons state. Last October, North Korea said it had successfully conducted an underground nuclear test. U.S., South Korean officials and other experts have said the test produced a relatively low-yield explosion. The test also alarmed the international community and led to a revival of the six-nation talks in China aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear facilities. The North agreed in February to end its nuclear program in return for economic aid and other benefits. CHINA China has called for a treaty to stop the spread of weapons in outer space. China says a current 40-year-old agreement is not enough to ensure peace in space. Officials say the current Outer Space Treaty does not fully prevent an arms race in space. The announcement comes two months after China launched a rocket into space and blew up an ageing weather satellite. The move shocked the international community and created fears of yet another arms race, this time in space. The United States was especially concerned of the Chinese action. Only Russia and the U.S. had succeeded in shooting down satellites in space before China accomplished the feat in January.
TORONTO: ONTARIO REJECTS SECURITIES PROPOSAL The Ontario Securities Commission says it won't accept the modification of the current securities regulation system proposed by the country's 12 other provincial and territorial jurisdictions. The OSC says that while the "passport" system could bring minor improvements, it won't obviate the need for a single national securities regulator. The OSC was reacting to the formalization of the proposal by the Canadian Securities Administrators to enable an investor to clear a prospectus or register as a dealer or adviser in one jurisdiction and have the transaction automatically registered in the others. The OSC says Ontario won't participate in such a change without a national commitment to the eventual creation of a national regulator. MONTREAL: BOMBARDIER REAPS QUARTERLY WINDFALL Canadian manufacturer Bombardier Inc. reports a fourth-quarter profit of US$112 million, a 30 per cent increase over the result 12 months previous. CEO Laurent Beaudoin partly attributes the success to increased orders for business jets. The U.S. airlines Northwest and Delta ordered 66 of Bombardier's CRJ900 jets, and there have been more orders for Bombardier Aerospace's turboprops as well. Bombardier Transportation posted a record profit of US$11.8 billion in new orders. OTTAWA: TV PROFITS HURT BY COST OF U.S. PRODUCTIONS Canada's communications watchdog reports that profits of Canadian television stations have been hurt by the higher cost of acquiring American TV products. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission says that profit before tax in 2006 fell from $242 million to $91 million. The CRTC says that revenue for the 97 television stations was $2.2 billion, about the same as the previous year, but that expenses rose 7.8 per cent, with the cost of foreign programs rising by 12.2 per cent. The Friends of Canadian Broadcasting lobby says the CRTC's revelations show that for the second straight year the stations are spending more on foreign programming than on Canadian. The lobby also criticized CRTC for allowing Canadian money to be drained by Hollywood to make American television shows. MONTREAL: TRADE TRIBUNAL RULES AGAINST DOMESTIC FIRM IN COPPER CONFLICT The Canadian International Trade Tribunal has ruled that Brazilian and Russian exporters of copper rod haven't harmed the two Canadian firms that produce the article and that there the punitive duties imposed on them will be lifted. The Canada Border Services Agency in February after determining that copper rod from Russia and Brazil had been dumped since January 2005 and that Brazilian copper rod had in addition been subsidized. The tribunal found that the imported materials haven't caused injury to domestic industry and that the punitive duties therefore can be lifted. The Nexans Canada Inc. firm disagrees, claiming that its market share has fallen from 95 per cent in 2005 to 43 per cent, and that it may be forced to lay of 18 of its 115 production and maintenance workforce next month. The Canadian company is deciding whether to appeal to Federal Court of Canada. MARKETS TSE on Wednesday: 12,300, down 97. The Canadian dollar: US86.27, down 0.14 of a cent. The Euro: C$1.5436, down 0.12 of a cent. Light, sweet crude for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.15 to settle at $64.08 a barrel, the highest close since Sept. 11, 2006
SWIMMING Two more Canadian swim records fell at the World Aquatic Championships on Wednesday with Brian Johns of Richmond, BC, becoming the first Canadian to swim the 200 individual medley in under two minutes. Audrey Lacroix of Pont-Rouge, QC., also qualified for the women's 200 butterfly final in Canadian record time. Canadian swimmers have yet to win a medal but have set four national records in the pool so far. Canadians won five swimming medals two years ago in Montreal. HOCKEY Vladislav Tretiak is hoping to see a repeat of hockey's 1972 Summit Series. The legendary Russian goalie is spearheading a proposal to stage a series this August. He says a dispute between Russian hockey officials and the National Hockey League over player contracts needs to be resolved before talks can proceed. FOOTBALL The Canadian Football League introduced Mark Cohon as its new commissioner Wednesday. Cohon has been given a five-year deal. Cohon will officially assume his duties at the league office on April 17.
Weather Here is Canada's weather on Monday. British Columbia: mainly sunny. The high temperature in Vancouver: 14 degrees Celsius. The Yukon: partly cloudy. Whitehorse, minus three. Northwest Territories: snow flurries. Yellowknife, minus two. Nunavut: light snow. Iqaluit, minus two. Alberta: sunny. Edmonton, eight. Saskatchewan: increasing cloudiness. Regina, nine. Manitoba: sunny. Winnipeg, nine. Ontario: showers. Toronto, 18. Ottawa, nine. Quebec: rain. Montreal, nine. New Brunswick: increasing cloudiness. Fredericton, nine. Nova Scotia: sunny. Halifax, eight. Prince Edward Island: sunny. Charlottetown, six. Newfoundland: variable cloudiness. St. John's, zero.
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