Prime Minister defends need for federal deficit.
Opposition leader derides budget leaks.
Air Canada announces more job cuts.
OTTAWA: PRIME MINISTER DEFENDS NEED FOR FEDERAL DEFICIT
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is defending the CDN$34 billion deficit that will be announced on Tuesday in the next federal budget. Mr. Harper says that major government spending is essential to restore the confidence of consumers and corporations during the global economic crisis. Mr. Harper says that his minority government is prepared for an election if the opposition parties vote against the budget.
TORONTO: OPPOSITION PARTY LEADER DERIDES BUDGET LEAKS
Michael Ignatieff, leader of Canada's main opposition Liberal Party, is upset with the government's decision to release details of next week's federal budget. Mr. Ignatieff called the decision irresponsible and inappropriate. He warned that the Liberals and the two other oppsotion parties could defeat the minority government if they find the budget unacceptable.
TORONTO: AIR CANADA ANNOUNCES MORE JOB CUTS
Canada's largest airline has announced plans to cut another 345 jobs. Air Canada says that most of the job losses will be among its 5,700 flight attendants. The airline says that declining passenger traffic in a weakening global economy is the reason for the layoffs. The airline says that the cuts will not compromise safety. The latest job cuts are in addition to the 2,000 positions that Air Canada said it was eliminating last June when fuel prices were rising.
OTTAWA: INDIA TRIP COMES UNDER CRITICSM
A trip to India this week by Canada's trade minister Stockwell Day is coming under criticism. Opponents say that it has tarnished Canada's reputation as a nuclear non-proliferation advocate. They say that Mr. Day was pursuing nuclear reactor agreements with India, a country that refuses to sign the non-proliferation nuiclear treaty. Mr. Day says that he put safety and security first in the trade negotiations. But activists argue that no matter what safeguards Canada puts in place, civilian nuclear aid to India has the potential of being used for military purposes. Canada stopped nuclear cooperation with India in 1974 after the Indian government used plutonium from a Canadian reactor to build and test an atomic bomb.
TORONTO: NATO EYES CANADA'S DEFENCE MINISTER
The British magazine, The Economist, has mentioned Canada's defence minister, Peter MacKay, as a possible candidate for NATO's next Secretary-General. The alliance is looking for a replacement for Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. Mr. MacKay says that it is a compliment to be mentioned as a possible NATO chief. But he pointed out that he still has a major government job. Political analysts say traditionally the position goes to a European.
TORONTO: LISTERIA FOUND IN MEAT PLANT
A food plant in Toronto has tested positive for the deadly bacteria, listeria. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency found signs of the bacteria at the plant, which produces meat for markets in Canada and the United States. The plant is a subsidiary of Maple Leaf Foods, which had to close one of its operations in Toronto last year after 20 people across Canada died from eating meat products containing the listeria bacteria. The plant has since re-opened.
AFGHANISTAN
There are conflcting reports about an overnight raid in the eastern province of Laghman. The U.S. coalition claims that the raid killed 15 Taliban militants, but residents in the area say those killed were all innocent civilians. The killing of civilians has angered the Afghan government. Canadian troops are part of the foreign military coalition in Afghanistan.
SOMALIA
A suicide car bombing and subsequent gunfight in Somalia has killed at least 22 civilians. The bombing targeted African Union peacekeepers in Mogadishu. A policeman opened fire at the vehicle, causing it to strike a passenger bus. The explosion killed 17 people immediately. Three others died later of their wounds. Insurgents began a gunfight with the peacekeepers, killing five civilians and wounding 23 others. Evidence showed that the suicide bomber was a foreigner. The African Union has 3,400 peacekeepers in Somalia.
BELGIUM
Police in Belgium have released more information about a 20-year-old man charged with killing two infants and a nurse at daycare centre in Dendermonde on Friday. Ten children and two staff were wounded. Police say that when arrested, the man was heavily armed, had a bullet-proof vest and wanted to cause maximum damage. He was in possession of a knife, a hatchet and a fake pistol hidden in a backpack. The man has a history of psychiatric problems. The accused's identity has not been released. During his interrogation, he divulged nothing. He was charged with murder and attempted murder.
GAZA
Israel has dismissed international calls for a full re-opening of border crossings with the Gaza Strip. Although medicine and food are being delivered daily, diplomats are criticizing restrictions on steel and cement imports needed to make repairs to Gaza's infrastructure, badly damaged by Israel's three-week military offensive. U.S. President Barack Obama says the border crossings should be re-opened to both humanitarian and commercial goods under a monitoring regime that includes the Palestinian Authority.
INDIA
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had successful heart surgery on Saturday at a hospital in New Delhi. Doctors decided to perform the surgery after Mr. Singh complained of chest pains earlier in the week. There have been concerns whether Mr. Singh will be healthy enough to campaign for the general elections expected to be held before May.
EL SALVADOR
Former leftist rebels won the most seats in El Salvador's election this month, but not a majority. Final results show that the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front won 35 seats in the 84-seat congress. President Tony Saca's Arena party lost two seats to end with 32. The Christian Democratic party won 11 seats. The conservative National Conciliation party has five seats. The conservative bloc gained more than the 43 seats needed for a simple majority. But neither side has the two-thirds majority needed to approve key measures.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
A joint military operation involving Congolese and Rwandan troops has killed nine Hutu rebels since the operation began earlier this week. The first fighting began on Friday and continued into Saturday. Rwanda has sent at least 5,000 soldiers into neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. On Thursday, the rebel leader, Laurent Nkunda, was arrested as he tried to flee the country.
IRAQ
At least five policemen were killed on Saturday in a suicide bomber attack at a police checkpoint near the capital, Baghdad. The suicide bomber drove a car filled with explosives into the checkpoint in Garma, some 30 kilometres from Baghdad. The attack took place a week before Iraq holds local elections. American officials have warned of a possible increase in violence before the January 31 vote.
SPEED SKATING
Canadian Denny Morrison won the men's one thousand metre race at a World Cup speed skating event in Kolomna, Russia. He also set the local track record. In the women's one thousand metres, Canadian Christine Nesbitt won the bronze medal.
SKIING
Canadian Erik Guay finished 15th in the men's downhill at a World Cup event in Kitzuehel, Austria, on Saturday. Didier Defago of Switzerland was first.
BASKETBALL
In the National Basketball Association on Friday, the Toronto Raptors defeated Chicago, 114-94.
Weather
Here is Canada's weather on Sunday. British Columbia will be sunny. The high temperature in Vancouver will be one degree Celsius. The Yukon: increasing cloudiness. Whitehorse, minus 20. Northwest Territories: sunny. Yellowknife, minus 21. Nunavut: mainly sunny. Iqaluit, minus 25. Alberta: sunny. Edmonton, minus 14. Saskatchewan: sunny. Regina, minus 25. Manitoba: sunny. Winnipeg, minus 23. Ontario: sunny. Toronto, minus nine. Ottawa, minus 10. Quebec: snow flurries. Montreal, minus 10. New Brunswick: sunny. Fredericton, minus 12. Nova Scotia: sunny. Halifax, minus 12. Prince Edward Island: sunny. Charlottetown, minus 15. Newfoundland: variable cloudiness. St. John's, minus eight.
