|  |  |  | 28/10/2006
HEADLINES
- Prime minister rejects calling Quebec a nation.
- Canadian security agents operate overseas.
- British Columbia plans major inland port city.
CANADA
OTTAWA: PRIME MINISTER REJECTS CALLING QUEBEC A NATION
Canada's prime minister, Stephen Harper, says that he considers the province of Quebec to be an integral part of the country, and he does not want to refer to it officially as a nation. Mr. Harper was reacting to recent remarks by one of the candidates for the leadership of the federal opposition Liberal Party, Michael Ignatieff. Mr. Ignatieff, the front-runner in the leadership race, is the only candidate to come out fully in favour of calling Quebec a nation. The other candidates carefully qualify their remarks about Quebec, where many among the French-speaking majority population have long sought nation status. The matter achieved renewed urgency this week when Quebec's former premier, Bernard Landry, wrote an article in Montreal's biggest newspaper, La Presse, in which he urged Mr. Harper to take up Mr. Ignatieff's example. In his most recent remarks on the subject, Mr. Ignatieff denied allegations that he wanted Canada's government to open new talks on the country's constitution.
OTTAWA: CANADIAN SECURITY AGENTS OPERATE OVERSEAS
The head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) says that his agents are operating in Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon. The statement by Jim Judd is the first time that the Service has identified countries in which it's been operating. Speaking in Ottawa on Friday to the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies, Mr. Judd said that his agency has to strengthen its capacity to work abroad because of foreign threatens. A report on Saturday in a Toronto newspaper, the National Post, said that an al-Qaeda operative had posted a warning to Canada on the Internet, saying that Canada should withdraw its troops from Afghanistan or face the consequences. But Mr. Judd also mentioned CSIS's role in transferring Canadian citizens out of Lebanon during the recent conflict there. CSIS was formed in 1984 as a domestic intelligence agency that relied on information from larger partners such as the U.S. CIA. The Conservative Party government is considering forming a new foreign intelligence service. Observers say that Mr. Judd's remarks were aimed at carving a niche for his agency within a new service. Mr. Judd's comments were reported by the Globe & Mail newspaper.
PRINCE GEORGE: BRITISH COLUMBIA PLANS MAJOR INLAND PORT
The premier of British Columbia, Gordon Campbell, wants to make the city of Prince George into a major inland port. Speaking on Friday to the Union of British Columbia Municipalities, Mr. Campbell said that the port project cannot wait for the federal government's support, and it is already on the provincial government's agenda. He predicted building a state-of-the-art port that would move air, sea and land cargo to Asia and throughout North America in record time. Mr. Campbell said that his province wanted to take advantage of its position as a gateway to Asia's growing economies, led by China. A provincial member of parliament from Prince George, John Rustad, said that the province's role would be to encourage investment in the port. Prince George is in north-central British Columbia on the Fraser River, a major river in the province.
TORONTO: GOVERNMENT PROMISES TO PROTECT RCMP WHISTLEBLOWERS
Canada's public safety minister is promising to protect the jobs of two members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who say that they have information about a colleague's criminal activities. Stockwell Day say that the two whistleblowers will suffer no retaliation for their testimony. The case could involve the head of the RCMP, Giuliano Zaccardeli. In the 1990s, he was head of the RCMP criminal division in New Brunswich that investigated an alleged case of sexual abuse by a former RCMP officer. The allegation is that the details of the investigation were covered up and the case was dropped.
OTTAWA: MEDICAL DISCHARGES INCREASING IN CANADIAN MILITARY
Members of the Canadian Forces are being discharged at a surprising rate because they are considered too ill to serve in a battle zone. The Globe & Mail newspaper has figures showing that the number of medical discharges doubled from 557 in the year 2000 to 1,067 in 2005. Medical releases accounted for one quarter of all military personnel discharged last year. The military says that it cannot explain the increase. The number of soldiers wounded in Canada's mission to Afghanistan makes up only a tiny fraction of the medical discharges. Some veterans speculate that the military wants combat-ready troops and is no longer willing to transfer medically unfit personnel from combat duties to less taxing jobs. Military personnel are employed by the Canadian Forces, not the Defence Department. Their status excludes them from a Defence Department policy that obligates the employer to find suitable work for civilian employees who have medical problems. But the Canadian Forces says that soldiers who lose their jobs for medical reasons have priority in applying for government jobs for which they're qualified.
CALGARY: VETERANS OF AFGHAN CONFLICT RECEIVE NEW MEDALS
Four Canadian soldiers who risked their lives in Afghanistan are the first to receive new medals for "gallantry and devotion to duty in combat." They were honoured at a dinner in Calgary on Friday night. Corporal Jason Lamont, Corporal Colin Fitzgerald and Sergeant Mike Denine receive the Medal of Military Valour, Sergeant Patrick Tower has the Star of Military Valour, a medal surpassed only by the Victoria Cross. The Governor General, Michaelle Jean, will present the medals at a later time. Also present at the ceremony was retired General John de Chastelain, who was honoured for his role in the northern Ireland peace process.
HALIFAX: DEMONSTRATORS CALL FOR CANADIAN WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN
About 200 people demonstrated against Canada's military role in Afghanistan in Halifax on Saturday, one of several demonstrations planned that day in Canadian cities. In Montreal, about 500 people marched under the rain. Nearby, three people demonstrated in favour of Canadian military action. In Toronto, the leader of the federal opposition New Democratic Party, Jack Layton, again urged a return of Canadian troops, saying that it was the wrong mission for Canada. The anti-military marchers urged Canada's government to return to the country's traditional role as a peacemaking nation. About 2,300 Canadian soldiers are participating in NATO's mission in Afghanistan.
VICTORIA: REVIEW URGED OF NATIVE INITIATION RITUAL
A coroner in the province of British Columbia is recommending a review of some native Indian rites that might have led to the death of two people. The two victims died in separate incidents within the past year after taking part in spirit-dancing ceremonies on Vancouver Island. In both cases, the victims were severely dehydrated. In one case, the victim was taking a powerful drug for rheumatoid arthritis. The B.C. Coroner's Service recommends that First Nations leaders review whether the rites associated with the spirit dance are warranted. Participants must spend a week or more in the native dwelling known as longhouse. The Service also asks whether health officials should be present during the rigorous rites, which serve as an initiation.
OTTAWA: TRADE MINISTER DEFENDS CHINA POLICY
Canada's trade minister, David Emerson, has dismissed suggestions that Canada is not interested in improving economic relations with China. Mr. Emerson is also denying critics who say that the Conservative Party government is split between those who emphasize human rights in dealing with China and those who say the priority should be trade relations. He admits that Canada has neglected opportunities to increase trade with the region, but says these policies pre-dated the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, which was elected in late January. Mr. Emerson plans to visit China early next year with Foreign Minister Peter MacKay.
NANAIMO: FIRST NATIONS WANT END TO TREATY IMPASSE
More than 40 First Nations peoples demanded on Saturday that the federal and provincial governments finish native land-claim treaties. The chiefs, elders and other representatives signed a protocol in Nanaimo, hoping to overcome an impasse with treaty negotiations. Taxation and fishing rights are big issues in the negotiations. Chief Robert Louis of Westbank warned that if the issue is left unresolved, it could lead to further action. He says blockades are a potential way of getting their message across to the public.
THUNDER BAY: CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR IS BUSTED
A candidate for mayor of the city of Thunder Bay in northwestern Ontario has been charged with trying to traffic an illegal drug. Douglas MacKay was charged last month after police traced nine kilograms of marijuana to him. Mr. MacKay confirmed on Friday that he was charged, but he also said that he's staying the race for mayor. He wants to make Thunder Bay a test area for the legal use of marijuana. Mr. MacKay ran unsuccessfully in the last federal election as a candidate for the Marijuana Party. He's due to appear in court on November 23.
VANCOUVER: JOURNALIST-AUTHOR DENNY BOYD IS DEAD
Denny Boyd, who wrote a personal newspaper column in Vancouver for over 40 years, died on Friday at the age of 76. The cause was cancer. He'd been in hospital for the past week. His column in the Vancouver Sun described his observations of the city, as well as his own battle with alcoholism. He also wrote about sports, a topic that Pierre Elliott Trudeau raised during an exclusive interview granted to Mr. Boyd when the late prime minister was first seeking the leadership of the Liberal Party in 1968. Mr. Boyd wrote an autobiography, In My Own Words, in 1995 and other books.
HALIFAX: FERRY SERVICE ESCAPES CLOSURE
A tentative deal has been reached to save ferry service between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, on Canada's Atlantic coast. The service links the town of Digby in Nova Scotia to the New Brunswick city of Saint John. Bay Ferries had planned to shut down the service on Tuesday because of high fuel costs and dwindling passenger numbers. Details of the agreement will be revealed on Monday.
WORLD BRIEFS
IRAQ
Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and U.S. President George W. Bush agreed on Saturday to make it easier to hand over full control of Iraq's military to the government. Following an hour-long video-conference, Mr. al-Maliki said that they agreed to hasten training of Iraqi soldiers and hand over responsibility for security. The statement appeared to dispel doubts that Mr. al-Maliki and Mr. Bush were at odds over the strength of their cooperation. The two sides want to present a united front on how sectarian violence is being handled in Iraq. On the same day, gunmen kidnapped 11 Iraqi soldiers travelling in a minibus at a fake checkpoint in a town north of Baghdad. Elsewhere, a roadside bomb hit a minibus in eastern Baghdad, killing one person and wounding eight. A mortar attack in the south of the capital left one man dead and 35 people wounded. Five bodies were recovered from the Tigris River, in Suwaira, south of Baghdad. All had been tortured and shot.
MEXICO
Mexico's president, Vicente Fox, on Saturday sent federal troops into the city of Oaxaca, where gunmen opened fire on protesters the day before, killing an American journalist and two other people. Brad Will was a cameraman working with Indymedia New York. He was shot in the chest when armed men tried to remove a blockade set up by protesters who are demanding the resignation of Oaxaca Governor Ulises Ruiz. At least nine people, mainly protesters, have been killed since striking teachers and leftist activists took over much of the state capital five months ago. The Oaxaca People's Popular Assembly, which is leading the protests, accused off-duty local policemen of carrying out the most recent killings.
SWITZERLAND
Sri Lankan government officials opened peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels in Geneva on Saturday, eight months after their previous round of talks. Neither side expected to make much progress. Envoys from both sides blamed each other for violence that has continued to escalate in the past several weeks. The government blamed the rebels for an attack at sea last week that killed more than 100 people. The rebels have threatened to walk out of the talks after this weekend unless the government agrees to re-open a main highway leading to the rebel-held region in the north.
FRANCE
Several police officers in France suffered minor injuries on Friday, as youths marked the first anniversary of the country's worst riots in decades. On Saturday, police were again out in force in Paris. Two buses in a suburb were attacked on the previous day. As well, the newspaper, Le Monde, reported that 277 vehicles were burned, a figure that the government declined to confirm. Clashes between youths and police were reported in the cities of Reims and Toulouse. Twenty-five people were arrested. But police reported no major incidents. The riots last year involved youths in poor urban regions who protested against what they said was discrimination against France's ethnic Muslims.
IVORY COAST
A ship carrying thousands of tonnes of deadly toxic waste left Ivory Coast on Friday and headed for France. The cargo comes out of several waste sites around Ivory Coast's capital, Abidjan. The waste was first dumped there three months ago after the Swiss-owned ship carrying it, the MN Toucan, was refused entry to the Netherlands. Since then, at least ten people have died and thousands of others have sought medical treatment for toxic poisoning from the sites. France has authorized the waste to enter at the port of Le Havre for processing in the southeastern region of Isere.
SOUTH AFRICA
The Nobel laureate for literature, Nadine Gordimer, came under assault on Thursday when armed robbers broke into her home in Johannesburg. The robbers locked her and her maid in a closet when Miss Gordimer refused to give up her wedding ring. Her husband died five years ago. Police freed the two half an hour later. Miss Gordimer won the Nobel Prize in 1991 for works about the inhumanity of apartheid. Violent crime is a major social problem in South Africa, where the government says more than eighteen thousand murders occurred last year---over 50 a day.
UNITED STATES
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer says that it's a tragedy that NATO troops killed Afghan civilians this week. In a meeting at the White House, he told U.S. President George W. Bush that Taliban-associated militants used the civilians as human shields. The deaths occurred on Tuesday during NATO operations in the Panjwayi district of southern Afghanistan. NATO said that its initial reports found 12 civilians were killed. But Afghan officials have estimated between 30 and 80 died, including many women and children. Canadian troops operating in Afghanistan were not involved in the incident.
BRITAIN
Scientists say that the vast warm ocean current that prevents Europe from being as cold as Canada in winter came to a halt for 10 days in 2004. Researchers told a climate change conference in Birmingham, England, that their discovery followed the most detailed study yet of ocean flow in the Atlantic. Climate models suggest that global warming could paradoxically see winter temperatures in Europe plummet, as melting ice water pushes warmer water further south.
BUSINESS NEWS
PODGORICA: CANADIAN FIRM TO DEVELOP MONTENEGRO COAST
In Montenegro's first major private deal since it gained independence in June, the Canadian mining company, Barrick Gold Corporation, will buy an abandoned shipyard on the Adriatic coast and turn it into a luxury resort. The shipyard is at Tivat, about 90 kilometres from the capital, Podgorica. Barrick Gold will pay CDN$41.4 million for the Arsenal shipyard and for the rights to develop the immediate coastline. The shipyard was first built in 1889 by the Austro-Hungarian navy. It was used as a naval base by the former Yugoslavia. The area is heavily polluted. Part of the deal involves money to clean up the pollution. The head of Barrick, Peter Munk, plans to invest about CDN$151 million over the next two years to create a hotel complex, yacht basin, shopping malls, and other facilities.
SPORTS
FOOTBALL
The Edmonton Eskimos beat the Saskatchewan Roughriders, 20-18, on Friday. Edmonton won on a 29-yard touchdown pass to Jason Tucker. Edmonton will still miss the playoffs this year---the first time since 1972.
BASKETBALL
The Toronto Raptors lost to the Chicago Bulls, 108-97, on Friday, in their last pre-season game before the season opens on Wednesday. It was Toronto's only lost of the pre-season.
HOCKEY
The Vancouver Canucks beat the Washington Capitals, 3-2, in a shootout on Friday.
SPEED SKATING
Canadian Charles Hamelin won the silver medal in the men's one-thousand metre event at a World Cup short-track speed skating meet in Jeonju, South Korea, on Saturday. His compatriot, Olivier Jean, won the bronze. Lee Ho-Suk of South Korea won the gold. The meet was the second of the World Cup season.
SOCCER
Canada's women's team beat Italy, 3-2, in the first game of the invitational Peace Queen Cup in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday. Christine Sinclair scored two goals for Canada. Three Canadian players, including captain Charmaine Hooper, did not participate. They were suspended for failing to play in exhibition games against China last August.
TENNIS
Canadian Daniel Nestor and his partner Mark Knowles of the Bahamas won their semi-final doubles match against Jose Acasuso and Juan Ignacio Chela on Saturday to gain the finals of the Swiss Indoor tournament.
WEATHER
Weather
Here is Canada's weather on Sunday. British Columbia will be windy. The high temperature in Vancouver will be 11 degrees Celsius. The Yukon: variable cloudiness. Whitehorse, minus eight. Northwest Territories: overcast. Yellowknife, minus seven. Nunavut: variable cloudiness. Iqaluit, minus five. Alberta: overcast. Edmonton, minus six. Saskatchewan: overcast. Regina, minus one. Manitoba: light snow. Winnipeg, one. Ontario: windy. Toronto, seven. Ottawa, four. Quebec: light rain. Montreal, five. New Brunswick: rain. Fredericton, seven. Nova Scotia: rain. Halifax, 13. Prince Edward Island: rain. Charlottetown, five. Newfoundland: rain. St. John's, ten.
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