Canadians hurt in India terrorist attacks
Retailers open 'round the clock
OTTAWA: BUDGETARY VOTE COULD LEAD TO NEW ELECTION
The three opposition parties in Canada's House of Commons say they'll vote against the minority Conservative government's fiscal update presented on Thursday by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, a development that would lead to another national election. The Liberal and New Democratic parties and the Bloc Québécois say they won't support Mr. Flaherty's measures because it offers no stimulus package to help cope with the economic slump. The fiscal update is a confidence measure that must pass a vote in the House or the government will fall and another election ensue. The last election took place only on Oct. 14. Mr. Flaherty acknowledged in his statement that the economy will shrink by one per cent in the fourth quarter and .4 per cent in the first quarter of next year before resuming growth but that the government will nonetheless have a budget surplus of $.8 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31. The minister said that the government will study any additional actions needed to stimulate the economy beyond its recent tax cuts, but warns that any such could indeed lead to a deficit. His statement also eliminated a $1.95-per-vote federal subsidy for federal political parties.
OTTAWA: FEDERAL SURPLUS DWINDLES
The federal government says its budget surplus for the first half of the fiscal year came to $800 million, compared with a surplus of $6.6 billion for the same period a year earlier.
OTTAWA: CANADIANS HURT IN MUMBAI ATTACKS
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has denounced the "despicable and cowardly" terrorist attacks in Mumbai on Wednesday evening and early Thursday. Mr. Harper says they targeted both Indians and people from around the world, as well as "values we hold dear." His foreign minister, Lawrence Cannon, says two Canadians have been injured and that consular officials are trying to locate other Canadians in Mumbai. Earlier, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported that six Canadians staying at the two hotels that were attacked by the terrorists are missing and that it's unknown whether they've been taken hostage. Mr. Cannon said he offered Canada's condolences in a conversation with his Indian counterpart. The events have caused distress among Canada's one million citizens of Indian origin, many of them living in Toronto.
TORONTO: THREE NUCLEAR BIDDERS STILL IN THE FIELD
Ontario Energy and Infrastructure Minister George Smitherman has denied reports that U.S. nuclear giant Westinghouse Electric Co. has withdrawn from the competition to build new nuclear reactors in the province to avoid responsibility for eventual cost overruns. The government wants the three bidders so far to design and build reactors on a fixed-price basis precisely to avoid such overruns. The minister told the legislature that Westinghouse submitted various documents to Infrastructure Ontario as recently as a few days ago. The three bidders so far are Westinghouse, the French firm Aréva and Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. The opposition NDP party responded that Westinghouse's reluctance to assume the risk of overruns proves how financially dangerous the Liberal government's plans for new reactors are.
SASKATOON: NORTHWEST EYED FOR NUCLEAR PLANT
Ontario-based Bruce Power says it has identified an area of northwestern Saskatchewan as a suitable region to build a nuclear power plant. Bruce Power says the area is located between Lloydminster near the Alberta border east to Prince Albert. The company says it will now begin consultations with community and aboriginal leaders. An environmental assessment of the project could take as long as three years. Saskatchewan is the world's largest producer of uranium, the chief component in the production of nuclear energy, but to date the mineral isn't refined there.
TORONTO: BILL WOULD STOP CANDY-FLAVOURED CIGARS
A bipartisan private members' bill presented in the Ontario legislature would force tobacco firms to stop flavouring cigarillos. The bill presented by a legislator for the governing Liberal Party and the opposition New Democratic Party also would force the companies to sell cigarillos in packages of at least 20 to make them less affordable to children. The cigarillos are sold in individual tubes that cost about $1. The two lawmakers say the products are deliberately marketed so as to appeal to children. There was support for the bill from the Ontario Campaign for Action on Tobacco, the Ontario Lung Association and the Canadian Cancer Society, as well as from Ontario Health Promotion Minister Margarett Best.
OTTAWA: FAMED PHYSICIST ACCEPTS CANADIAN POST
Internationally recognized British physicist Stephen Hawking has accepted a post at Canada's leading scientific institution, the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, ON. Prof. Hawkings will make extended visits to the institute starting in mid-2009. The Perimeter Institute, founded in 2000, has become known for attracting the top minds in theoretical physics.
CHARLOTTETOWN: GOVT. REJECTS CHANGE TO IMMIGRATION PROGRAM
Prince Edward Island's innovation minister has criticized a change to a federal-provincial program aimed at attracting business immigrants. Richard Brown says the change will mean the island will attract fewer business investors. Until Sept. 2, prospective immigrants could obtain a visa pending health and security checks in return for an investment of at least $200,000 in a local business. The federal government has raised the amount to $1 million on the grounds that the immigrant investors weren't required to be actively involved in the local firms, thereby diminishing the likelihood of their staying in P.E.I.
IRAQ
Iraq's parliament has passed an agreement that would see U.S. troops
leave the country by the end of 2011. The accord will see the pullout of some 150,000 American forces. The agreement also includes a long-term strategic framework that defines relations between the countries for years in the fields of economy, culture, science, technology, health and trade.
CUBA
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has arrived from Venezuela, as he seeks to revive relations in Latin America have have frayed since the end of the Soviet Union in 1991. He was met by President Raul Castro, Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque and the minister of foreign trade, Ricardo Cabrisas. Earlier while still in Venezuela, Mr. Medvedev and President Hugo Chavez toured a Russian destroyer. A convoy of four Russian warships is visiting Venezuela to carry out maneuvres with the Venezuelan navy. Russia also agreed to help Venezuela establish a nuclear program. Russian officials have denied that Mr. Medvedev's visit is a provocation to the U.S., but he has visited some of Washington's staunchest opponents in the region.
THAILAND
Protesters occupying Bangkok's two airports were braced for an attack by the authorities on Thursday evening. Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat declared a limited state of emergency that empowers police to regain control of the facilities. The occupations have left thousands of tourists stranded. In a television address, Mr. Somchai accused the protesters of taking the country hostage. There were rumours in the capital that the army intends to stage a coup to end the months-long standoff between the elected government and the People's Alliance for Democracy.
GREECE
The merchant marine says it has fired the harbour master of Patras because several of his subordinates were arrested in an immigration investigation. Merchant Marine Minister Anastassis Papaligouras, says the situation in Patras "...saddens us all." Five coast guard agents were arrested this week on suspicion of complicity in a migrant smuggling operation for the past two years. They've been charged with forming a criminal organization and could face life in jail. Patras, about 200 kilometres west of Athens, is the chief Greek port for shipping to Italy and hundreds of would-be emigrants are caught each year trying to board the ferries destined that country.
TORONTO: WAL-MART OPEN AROUND THE CLOCK
Wal-Mart Canada says that 192 of its 310 outlets will remain open 24 hours a day between Dec. 1 and Dec. 24. The world's biggest retailer took the decision at a time of shaky consumer confidence and a global credit crisis. Wal-Mart says that 41 per cent of its customers have said that extended hours are important when they decide where to shop during the Christmas. Loblaw Cos. Ltd., the country biggest grocery chain, also says it will keep some of its store open late.
TORONTO: GROCERIES GETTING RID OF PLASTIC BAGS
The country's two biggest grocery chains have announced moves to discourage the use of plastic bags. Loblaw, the bigger, says it will no longer provide free plastic bags at checkout counters starting in April. However, the bags will remain available at a cost of five cents. Sobeys says it will charge five cents a bag, but only in the Toronto area to conform with the city's proposed waste reduction bylaw. Loblaw says its decision will cause a 55-per cent decrease in the number of plastic bags that it distributes. Canadians take home 55 million of the bags each week.
LONDON: AUTO WORKERS DECLINE RESPONSIBILITY FOR CRISIS
The union that represents Canadian auto workers has rejected the idea that their wages are the reason why the three main North American automakers are mired in a financial crisis. The Canadian Auto Workers union's executive held a symposium on the situation on Thursday in London, ON, with local union leaders. CAW economist Jim Stanford told listeners that the crisis has nothing to do with union wages, its wages and benefits being comparable or lower than those prevailing in the U.S. and Europe. Mr. Stanford claims that CAW workers are 10 per cent more productive than their American counterparts. The economist concluded that the automotive crisis stemmed from the decision by U.S. banks to make it easy for people, including the jobless, to obtain mortgages.
TORONTO: BROADCASTER LAYS OFF 100
Canadian broadcaster CTV says it will lay off about 100 employees, most of them in Toronto. CTV says the layoffs will come mostly at its music and youth channels Much Music and MTV Canada. The broadcaster says there won't be any more layoffs this year. Its parent firm, CTVglobemedia, has about 6,500 employees. One of CTV's rivals, Canwest Global Communications Corp., recently laid off 560 employees.
SAINT JOHN: IRVING DELAYS REFINERY PROJECT
Irving Oil says it will stretch out the construction of a second oil refinery in the city from four to eight years. However, the $8-billion project will still begin in 2011. The company explains that the longer period is due to shortages of skilled labour, higher borrowing costs and the downturn of the North American economy. Energy Minister Jack Keir says Irving's announcement is good news because he had feared that it and its partner British Petroleum might cancel the project altogether because of the current financial climate.
MONTREAL: BOMBARDIER STILL EYING CHINESE AVIATION MARKETS
Manufacturer Bombardier Inc. says it still expects China to be a market for its new CSeries airliners even though the Chinese may delay orders. The company says it expects China to account for 15 per cent of the global aircraft market over the next 20 years and that if the Chinese authorities impose a freeze on aircraft purchase for one or two quarters, the delay won't affect the long-term situation. Bombardier says it still expects to sell 6,300 CSeries models over that same period. Earlier Thursday, the securities arm of Desjardins Group predicted that China would likely not be a customer for the new plane in the short or middle terms. China's state-owned Shenyang Aircraft Corp. will produce the centre fuselage for the CSeries.
MARKETS
TSX on Thursday: 8,753.77 up 110. The Canadian dollar closed at 81.23 US, falling 0.06 of a cent . The euro was worth C$1.5884, up 0.17 of a cent.
FOOTBALL
Danny Maciocia is giving up his head coaching duties
with the Edmonton Eskimos.
He has decided to concentrate on his duties as the Canadian Football League team's director of football operations.
The Eskimos lost to the Montreal Alouettes in the East Division
final this month after posting a 10-8 record in the regular season.
OLYMPICS
The countdown clock for the 2010 Winter Olympics has
taken a time-out.
Vancouver Olympic officials were notified early Thursday morning
that the large digital clock had stopped.
While the showpiece has taken a licking but kept on ticking
before, this time it appears faulty wiring and not vandalism is at
work.
SKIING
American Bode Miller had the fastest time in Thursday's second day of training for this weekend's first World Cup downhill race of the season while Erik Guay was the top Canadian in 13th. Miller cruised over the three-kilometre Men's Olympic downhill run in one minute 45.37 seconds. That sliced 1.85 seconds off the leading time he posted in Wednesday's training.
Weather
British Columbia on Friday: snow north, rain south, high 8 Celsius Vancouver. Yukon, Nunavut: snow. Northwest Territories: mix of sun, cloud. Whitehorse -2, Yellowknife -11, Iqaluit -15. Alberta: mix of sun, cloud north, snow south. Saskatchewan: mix of sun, cloud north, snow south. Manitoba: sun. Edmonton 3, Regina -2, Winnipeg -5. Ontario: snow north, rain south. Quebec: rain. Toronto 5, Ottawa 2, Montreal 3. Atlantic Canada: rain. Fredericton 6, Halifax, Charlottetown 7, St. John's 11.
