Vaccine production in Canada returns to schedule
Canadian jobless benefits eligibility extended
OTTAWA: GOVT. EMERGENCIES AGENCY REPORTED UNPREPARED
The federal auditor general has found serious operational faults at Public Safety Canada, the agency charged with co-ordinating the federal response to public emergencies like the H1N1 crisis. Sheila Fraser offered the criticism in her annual report to Parliament. The auditor general deplores that two years after Parliament gave Public Safety Canada overall responsibility for emergency management leadership in times of pandemics, floods, blackouts or terror attacks, it still has not fashioned a formal plan. Mrs. Fraser notes as well that the agency is supposed to lay down how federal department will co-ordinate their activities in such crises but has yet to do so. The auditor general does give the agency a measure of credit in developing a response to the avian flu and H1N1, but it's not playing its leadership role, falling short as well in cybersecurity and in protecting critical infrastructure such as railways, pipelines and power plants. The agency has acknowledged most of the failings and pledged to improve.
TORONTO: VACCINE BACK ON PRODUCTION TRACK
The manufacturer of the H1N1 vaccine intended for the general population, GlaxoSmithKline, says production is now proceeding normally. The company had reported that its production schedule had been delayed by the demand of the health authorities that it produce a version of the vaccine intended for pregnant women and that that had slowed the regular vaccine. GlaxoSmith Kline says it will be producing millions of doses and that Canada will be one of the first countries to obtain enough vaccine for the entire population. The company is the only supplier in Canada. Since the vaccination program began on Monday of last week, vaccination centres have been overwhelmed by the demand.
OTTAWA: OPPOSITION ATTACKS GOVT. OVER FLU MANAGEMENT
The Canadian government is being criticized by the opposition parties for the way it's handling the vaccination program to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus. Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff called the government incompetent during an emergency flu debate in the House of Commons Monday night, claiming the governemnt has released confusing information about the vaccine. He also says Canadians have been dealing with long lineups for flu shots and some provinces are even facing a vaccine shortage because of production delays. Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq insists thousands of Canadians are getting their inoculations, and that there will be enough vaccine by Christmas for everyone who wants it. Nearly 100 Canadians have died of flu-related symptoms.
OTTAWA: SELF-EMPLOYED TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR JOBLESS BENEFITS
The federal government has introduced legislation that would make self-employed workers eligible for employment insurance benefits. Human Resources Minister Diane Finley says the bill is one of the most important improvements to the legislation in the past decade. The benefits would be available to those needing parental or maternity leave, as well as in cases of sickness or compassionate care. Under the proposed legislation, the self-employed could voluntarily opt into the EI program and receive the same benefits available to salaried employees. Since the recession began last year, the government has extended the time period for EI benefits.
KABUL: PM CONGRATULATES AFGHAN PRESIDENT
Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper has sent congratulations to Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai on his election victory. Mr. Harper called on Mr. Karzai to strengthen efforts to combat corruption and to deliver basic services to the Afghan population. Mr. Harper's congratulations came soon after Afghanistan's Election Commission announced Monday there would be no runoff presidential election on Nov. 7. The decision came after main presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah withdrew from the election this past weekend because his demands for changes to prevent voting fraud were not met.
OTTAWA: TRANSLATION BLUNDERS UNDER INVESTIGATION
Canada's Defence Minister Peter MacKay has ordered officials to look into allegations that innocent Afghans may have been sent to jail due to faulty translations by Canadian military interpreters. A former language and cultural adviser to the Canadian Forces said he witnessed at least two instances when innocent people were wrongly labelled as Taliban supporters because Afghan-Canadian interpreters did not understand what had been said. The leader of Canada's opposition New Democrats, Jack Layton, described the revelation as a troubling development and demanded to know what the minority Conservative government planned to do about it.
OTTAWA: NDP DEMANDS PENSION PROTECTION
The federal opposition New Democratic Party is proposing legislation to protect the pensions of Canadians by giving them priority status when companies close. The measures were tabled in the House of Commons Tuesday as a private member's bill by NDP Member of Parliament Wayne Marston. The NDP leader, Jack Layton, says the bill would close loopholes that have allowed failed companies to walk away from their responsibilities. Mr. Layton pointed to the case of former Canadian telecom giant Nortel Networks Corp. as an example of a company that files for bankruptcy and uses money owed to workers to pay off creditors. Because of Nortel's action, over 17,000 of its former employees now risk losing their pensions.
OTTAWA: BUDGET OFFICER NEEDS BIGGER BUDGET
Canada's parliamentary budget officer says that if the Conservative Party government continues to deny his office a promised budget increase, it might as well close it. In testimony before a parliamentary committee Tuesday, Kevin Page also said that Canada might incur yearly budget deficits even when the economy recovers. Mr. Page says he thinks Ottawa will have a hard time balancing its budget mainly because of the aging of the population. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has asserted, on the contrary, that the deficit will be erased by 2015. This year's projected deficit amounts to $56 billion.
ST JOHN'S: ROYAL VISIT BEGINS
Britain's Prince Charles and his wife Camilla have begin an eleven-day visit to Canada. They started the trip Monday in the east coast city of St. John's, NL. The Prince used his welcoming ceremony speech to call for leadership when it comes to combating global warming, adding that the world's biggest threat is climate change. The royal couple's tour will include stops in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia.
THE NETHERLANDS
Accused war crimes perpetrator Radovan Karadzic attended his trial at the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague, after having boycotted the first two days of the proceedings. He claimed his rights had been violated by the judges who started without him. The leader of the Bosnian Serbs during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war faces two counts of genocide and nine other charges. The campaign against Muslim and Croats which he led included the 44-month siege of Sarejevo and the massacre in 1995 of 8,000 Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica.
SPAIN
About 50 African nations boycotted meetings at a UN conference in Barcelona, Spain, over the issue of climate change. The African delegates complained that industrialized nations are setting carbon-cutting targets too low to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The boycott forced the cancellation of several technical meetings. The Africans said they will discuss only the carbon-reduction pledges by wealthy states before passing to other questions. This is the first time that African states have taken such a tough stand at UN climate talks. A report by the world body in 2007 predicted that Africa would suffer the most from climate, mentioning drought, agricultural damage, rising sea levels along coastal areas and the spread of tropical pests and diseases.
FRANKFURT: OPEL WORKERS OFFER SACRIFICES
The labour union representing German carmaker Opel has agreed to cost-cutting concessions to facilitate the sale of the company to Canadian auto parts manufacturer Magna International Inc. and a Russian partner. German workers would forgo pay increases through 2011 and give up part of their Christmas and holiday. The concessions are contingent on the transaction involving Magna goes through. GM's directors were to make a final decision on the matter later Tuesday. Under the terms of the proposed deal, GM would keep a 35-per cent stake in Opel, its workers would own 10 per cent, while Magna and Sberbank would own the rest equally.
MARKETS
TMX on Tuesday: 11,007, up 129. Canadian dollar: US93. Euro: C$1.57. Oil: $79.33, up $1.20.
HOCKEY
Defenceman Michael Del Zotto was named the National Hockey League's
rookie of the month for October on Tuesday.
Del Zotto led all rookies in scoring with 12 points (four goals,
eight assists) in 14 games.
Weather
British Columbia on Wednesday: rain north, mix sun cloud south, high C12 Vancouver. Yukon: snow. Northwest Territories, Nunavut: mix sun cloud. Whitehorse 0, Yellowknife -11, Iqaluit -12. Prairies: sun. Edmonton 6, Regina 5, Winnipeg 3. Ontario: rain. Quebec: sun. Toronto 7, Ottawa 2, Montreal 3. New Brunswick: sun. Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador: rain. Fredericton 4, Halifax 7, Charlottetown 5, St. John's 11.
