Opposition won't overthrown minority govt.
Energy province backs away from royalties hike
OTTAWA: GOVT. SETS OUT LEGISLATIVE AGENDA
Canada's governor-general, Michaëlle Jean, has delivered a five-point plan to help Canada deal with the global financial crisis. In her Speech From the Throne on behalf of the governing Conservative Party, Miss Jean promised sound budgeting to ensure the country avoids continuing deficits. However, the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper does not rule out a deficit in the short term. The government promises to give more support to the automobile and aerospace industries, and to make the way it conducts business more efficient. The Throne Speech put forward a government promise to work with international partners to examine to and revise global financial rules. The Harper government also promised to focus on the environment, to help Canadians buying their first home and to ensure that Canadians are safe by taking tough action against crime and improving the administration of justice.
OTTAWA: FLAHERTY HAS WORDS OF CAUTION
The government will offer more specific measures on Thursday or Friday when Finance Minister Jim Flaherty presents a fiscal update. The minister said after the speech that the update won't be a budget or even a mini-budget and that Canadians shouldn't expect quick relief from the deepening economic slump or major measures to help the auto industry. Mr. Flaherty recalled that Industry Minister Tony Clement is in Detroit and Washington this week meeting executives and legislators, and that any initiatives would emerge from those meeting.
TORONTO: DETROIT AUTO EXECS SAID 'OPTIMISTIC'
Mr. Clement, meanwhile, has said after his meeting with executives of the Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Corp. and General Motors that they "optimistic" about maintaining a continent-wide industry, despite a steep decline in sales of their products. Mr. Clement says the meetings went well, but didn't disclose how bad exactly their financial woes are. He did say that his guests have faith in "...a continent-wide auto sector that can build cars and sell cars that people want to buy." The minister added that it "too soon to tell" whether Canadian job guarantees would be a condition of financial aid if Canada and the U.S. join to save the automakers. The federal minister is accompanied by Ontario Economic Development Minister Michael Bryant. Both will meet lawmakers in the U.S. capital on Thursday.
OTTAWA: CENTRAL BANKER SAYS MORE INTERVENTION NEEDED
The head of the Bank of Canada says further measures are needed to stimulate the economy. Mark Carney says Canada's banks remain sound but that the economy has been harmed by the global financial crisis. Mr. Carney says that not only have commodity prices dropped and it has become more difficult to obtain credit, but the U.S. slowdown, especially in the housing and auto sectors, affect key Canadian exports of lumber, vehicles and parts. Mr. Carney's statement suggests that the central bank will reduce short-term interest rates again on Dec. 9 in an effort to boost the economy.
OTTAWA: GOVT. WON'T BE OVERTHROWN
The biggest of the three opposition parties in the House of Commons, the Liberal Party, says it won't defeat the Conservative government in a confidence vote on the Speech From the Throne. However, the Bloc Québécois and New Democratic Parties say they'll vote against the speech. The minority Conservatives need the support of at least one of its three adversaries in confidence votes to avoid plunging the country back into another election. The Conservatives won a second minority in the vote on Oct. 14, albeit a reinforced one.
OTTAWA: CONSERVATIVES REVERSE FIELD ON ENVIRONMENT
The Conservative government on Wednesday announced it will work to develop a North America-wide cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gases. Until now, the Conservatives, who walked away from the Kyoto emissions reduction targets, have focussed more on cutting the intensity of emissions rather than imposing absolute curbs. Environment Minister Jim Prentice explained that the government's change of tack is due in part to the election of President-elect Barack Obama. The president-elect favours a plan for a 20-per cent cut in the 2007 level of emissions by 2020, a far more ambitious plan that that put forward by the Conservatives. The Green Party has reacted by accusing the government of "...just trying to con the Canadian public into believing that it's going to do something about climate change." Environmental groups say the Canadian government will have to go along with whatever system of emissions reduction that the U.S. adopts because its economy is 10 times the size of Canada's.
HALIFAX: DEFENCE MINISTERS MEET ON AFGHANISTAN
Defence ministers of countries that have deployed troops in southern Afghanistan will meet in the village of Cornwallis Square in central Nova Scotia on Thursday and Friday. Among other subjects, they'll discuss how a fresh infusion of U.S. troops can check the burgeoning Taliban uprising. Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay says the ministers will be expecting details of the "surge" from his U.S. counterpart, Robert Gates. Mr. MacKay noted that U.S. President-elect Barack Obama repeated his promise on Sunday to begin withdrawing American troops from Iraq and to boost U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The Canadian minister mentioned that the agenda will include as well the problem of corruption within the Afghan government, the training of Afghan forces, Afghanistan's election next year and the use by the Taliban of Pakistan as a safe haven from which to launch attacks against Afghanistan. NATO nations with forces in southern Afghanistan include the Netherlands, Australia, Denmark and Romania.
TORONTO: AGA KHAN VISITS CANADA
Aga Khan, the leader of 15 million Ismaeli Muslims including as many as 100,000 in Canada, has begun an eight-day visit to Canada. He met in Ottawa with the governor general, Miss Jean, and will next visit Toronto, where he'll meet Premier Dalton McGuinty, before travelling to Alberta and British Columbia. Aga Khan is known both as a spiritual leader and a philanthropist. The Aga Khan Canada Foundation collaborates with governments, civil society organizations and the private sector to provide various resources to developing nations.
TORONTO: CDA, CZECHS CONFER ON GYPSY MIGRANTS
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney will have talks with the Czech Republic's minister of human rights, Jamila Stehlikova, later in the week to discuss the high number of Czech Roma who arrive in Canada and claim refugee status. Five-hundred-and-fifty-four such applications are pending. The number is down by almost 50 per cent from when Canada imposed a visa requirement 10 years ago on visitors from the Czech Republic. The requirement was lifted last year.
OTTAWA: CHINESE CHILDREN MOST ADOPTED
The Adoption Council of Canada reports that in the decade preceding 2003 the country from which came the most children adopted by Canadians was China. The Council says, for example that in 2002, 800 of the 1,925 adopted children were Chinese, almost all of them girls. In the 1993-2003, about 2,000 children were adopted a year. Most international adoptions are finalized abroad. The Council reports as well that Toronto has been the most popular city for international adoptions, followed by Montreal. Based in Ottawa, the ACC raises public awareness of adoption, promotes placement of waiting children and stresses the importance of post-adoption services.
SOMALIA
An Indian warship blew up a pirate ship in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday but Somali pirates nonetheless hijacked two more vessels, A Thai fishing boat with a crew of 14 and a Hong Kong-flagged ship carrying grain to Iran. The pirates have demanded a ransom for the return of a Saudi supertanker carrying $100 million worth of crude oil. The International Maritime Bureau says the pirates operating off the coast of Somalia have kidnapped 94 ships this year and that the situation is "out of control." The naval abductions continue despite patrols by U.S., French, Russian and Indian warships.
PAKISTAN
The U.S. apparently for the first time fired an airstrike into Pakistan outside the tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan. The U.S. military says the attack killed six militants, including an al-Qaeda operative. The attack occurred in Bannu district, 50 kilometres from the Afghan border and beyond the tribal region. The Pakistani government condemned the attack as another "grave provocation" and vowed a "strong response." In frustration with its ally's inability to suppress the Islamic who are staging crossborder raids, the U.S. has launched about 20 missile attacks on and one commando raid into Pakistan. All the attacks previous to Wednesday's were directed against targets in North and South Waziristan.
CONGO
Insurgent leader Laurent Nkunda has respected his promise to withdraw hundreds of his fighters back from several frontline position, away from government troops. The withdrawal could open up the way for talks to end the crisis. Almost 300,000 people in North Kivu province have been displaced since the fighting erupted between Nkunda's rebels and the government soldiers. In related news, UN forces on patrol exchanged fire with pro-government Mai Mai militiamen who attacked them with machineguns in Kibitutu, a village 70 kilometres north of North Kivu's capital, Goma.
RUSSIA
A judge at Moscow's main military court has ruled that the trial of four suspects in the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya will be closed to the public. A lawyer for the Politkovskaya family says the judge overturned a decision made earlier this week because jurors had refused to enter the courtroom in the presence of reporters. The editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, where Mrs. Politkovskaya worked, called the ruling a disgraceful, secret, backroom decision. Dmitry Muratov says he will get around the ban on press coverage by publishing transcripts of the court proceedings in his newspaper. Mrs. Politkovskaya was shot dead outside her Moscow apartment two years ago. The four suspects in the case have entered pleas of not guilty.
UNITED STATES
The Democratic Party has called off a planned vote on a US$25 billion rescue package for the reeling U.S. auto industry. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid explained that he wants to come up with a way to help Detroit but that efforts have stalled. Both the Republican Party and the administration of President George W. Bush object to use of the US$700 billion package to rescue Wall Street to finance loans to automakers.
EDMONTON: HIGHER ROYALTIES ROLLED BACK
The Alberta government has in part rolled back the contentious royalties that energy firms were to start paying in January. Premier Ed Stelmach says his government is reacting to the global economic crisis to protect thousands of jobs in the province. The premier announced that the new rates will be reduced by $1.8 billion over five years for new oil and natural gas wells, but that the higher royalties announced a year ago will go into effect for existing wells and oilsands projects. The announcement of the higher fees angered energy firms, which reacted by cutting back on drilling and delaying major projects. Mr. Stelmach says the global credit crisis and volatile capital markets caused an urgent need for Wednesday's announcement concerning royalties.
OTTAWA: FINANCE MINISTER RETURNS TO CHARGE ON STOCK REGULATION
The finance minister, Mr. Flaherty, has again demanded that the provinces accept the creation of a single securities regulator for the whole country to replace the existing system of 13 provincial and territorial regulators. The minister has continually defended his idea since the Conservatives were elected in January 2006. Mr. Flaherty says the current world financial instability proves that a single regulator is needed more than ever, adding that while Canada's financial system is held up for emulation it contains the single flaw of its regulatory system. Mr. Flaherty stressed that he'll go ahead and change that system despite the resistance of provinces including Quebec.
TORONTO: BANK STOCKS DIP
Canada's major bank stocks fell on Wednesday, a day after Bank of Nova Scotia warned it would take a $595-million charge due to losses due to involvement in the U.S. financial tumult. Bank of Montreal dropped the most, its shares losing six per cent of their value. Scotiabank, Canadian Imperial bank of Commerce and Royal Bank of Canada were down five percent, while Toronto-Dominion Bank fell four per cent. The banks will soon release their results for the quarter that ended on Oct. 31, and analysts are pessimistic in their expectations.
CALGARY: GAS PRICES SINK
Consulting firm M.J. Ervin and Associations reports that gasoline prices are at their lowest level in 22 months, averaging 85.4 cents a litre. Gas hasn't been so cheap since January 2007. The firm says it doesn't foresee an early end to the worsening economic slump, which has depressed the price of crude and consequently gas.
MARKETS
TSX on Wednesday: 8,491, down 345. Canadian dollar: US79.83 cents, down 1.48 cents. Euro: C$1.5689, up 1.65 cents. Light, sweet crude: US$53.62, down $0.77.
SOCCER
Canadian Will Johnson has won goal of the year honours in Major League Soccer. The Real Salt Lake midfielder's flick and volley against F-C Dallas was named the 2008 Goal of the Year in online fan voting. Canadian striker Dwayne De Rosario won goal of the year in 2004 and 2005.
Weather
British Columbia on Thursday: rain, high 10 Celsius Vancouver. Yukon, Nunavut: snow. Northwest Territories: cloud. Whitehorse -18, Yellowknife -11, Iqaluit -16. Alberta: mix of sun, cloud south, sun north. Saskatchewan, Manitoba: sun. Edmonton -1, Regina -10, Winnipeg -9. Ontario: snow south, sun north. Quebec: mix of sun, cloud. Toronto 2, Ottawa -1, Montreal -2. Maritimes: snow. Newfoundland and Labrador: rain. Fredericton -3, Halifax, Charlottetown 1, St. John's 13.
