| Four troubling findings in the Auditor General’s semi-annual report Posted: 26 Nov 2013 10:33 AM PST  The good news for the Conservatives is that Tuesday's report from the Auditor General could help distract voters — and the opposition parties — from the ongoing Senate expense scandal. The bad news for the Tories is, well, the report's startling lack of positive assessments.
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| Speculation rampant of possible meteorite strike in western Quebec region Posted: 26 Nov 2013 10:27 PM PST MONTREAL - Social media sites lit up Tuesday evening with reports that a meteorite may have been seen and heard in the Montreal and Ottawa regions. Numerous people posted Twitter messages reporting a bright flash of blue light accompanied by the sound of a booming explosion just before 8 p.m. ET Although there is no official conformation of a meteorite, a spokesman for the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada says all signs point to a meteor event. "I've heard of reports south of Ottawa, through Cornwall, the Montreal area, folks down in northern New York state as well, said Andrew Fazekas.  |
| Rising prices, mortgage rates hits home affordability in Canada: RBC Posted: 26 Nov 2013 09:06 PM PST OTTAWA - Higher prices and an increase in mortgage rates have made home affordability more of a problem for the average Canadian family, says a new report from the Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY). RBC's latest research on the portion of average household income needed to maintain a home shows that affordability deteriorated over the summer, the second consecutive drop in as many quarters. The level of deterioration differs from region to region and between types of homes, but for the average bungalow the affordability measure rose 0.7 of a percentage point to 43.3 per cent nationally in the third quarter, after a 0.3-percentage-point gain in the second quarter. For two-storey homes, the affordability reading rose 0.6 or a percentage point to 48.9 per cent in the July-September period.  |
| Trudeau's Liberals boost claim to be top contender for power in Canada Posted: 26 Nov 2013 11:42 AM PST  By Randall Palmer OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's Liberals have strengthened their claim to be the main challenger to the governing Conservatives in the next general election after being thrust back into the political mainstream by a strong performance in four special elections. While much can change in the two years before the October 2015 general election, Monday's results have given new momentum to the Liberals, led by Justin Trudeau, son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. The ability of voters who oppose the Conservatives to coalesce around one of Canada's two main center-left opposition parties is critical if one of them is defeat Prime Minister Stephen Harper's party in 2015. There are some deep philosophical differences between the Liberals and the New Democratic Party (NDP) on their left.
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| 'I wasn't normal:' Calgary woman guilty of infanticide in deaths of her newborns Posted: 26 Nov 2013 03:03 PM PST  CALGARY - A woman accused in the deaths of two of her newborns who were thrown into garbage bins has been found not guilty of second-degree murder, but has been convicted on the lesser charge of infanticide. Court of Queen's Bench Justice Peter McIntyre said there was evidence to suggest that Meredith Borowiec's mind was disturbed after giving birth, so a murder conviction wasn't warranted. In interviews with police, Borowiec, now 32, admitted she heard the babies cry before she put them in trash bags and dropped them into garbage bins, but denied doing anything to hurt them before she disposed of them. Borowiec admitted to a similar scenario in 2009 when she again gave birth into a toilet in her northwest Calgary apartment, wrapped the child in a towel and dropped it into the bathroom garbage before walking out to a Dumpster and disposing of it.
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| Former Conservative staffer asks Stephen Harper to come clean or resign Posted: 26 Nov 2013 03:05 PM PST  A former Conservative staffer has written a scathing op-ed article asking the Prime Minister to come clean about the Senate expense scandal or resign as party leader. In the column published in the Ottawa Citizen, David Sachs — who worked … Continue reading →
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| Canadian navy may be shortchanged on ships because of budget problems: auditor Posted: 26 Nov 2013 12:41 PM PST  OTTAWA - Canada's navy may get neither the type nor the number of warships it needs because of the Harper government's budget inflexibility and failure to do its defence-policy homework, Canada's auditor general warns. Michael Ferguson's latest report examines the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy and the first few projects, which are already in the queue but still in the planning stages.
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| Sears Canada to slash 800 jobs in services units, head office Posted: 26 Nov 2013 02:33 PM PST  By Solarina Ho TORONTO (Reuters) - Sears Canada Inc is laying off nearly 800 employees as it overhauls its repair services and parts businesses and makes further staffing cuts at its head office, the department store chain said on Tuesday. Sears Canada, 51 percent-owned by Sears Holdings Corp, said 712 jobs will be cut from its services divisions and an additional 79 eliminated at the head office. The company has more than 25,000 associates, according to the Sears Canada website. Sears Canada said it will begin using contracted technicians for repair services in mid-markets instead of Sears technicians and that service teams in major markets would be streamlined.
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| Al Capone’s boat propeller goes missing from West Vancouver yard – again Posted: 26 Nov 2013 03:00 PM PST  He was the most notorious gangster in history, so it's not surprising that anything connected with Al Capone, however remotely, makes news. That's why the Vancouver Province is reporting the theft of a 300-pound boat propeller that was being used … Continue reading →
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| B.C. braces for power rate hikes to pay for costly green energy projects Posted: 26 Nov 2013 01:50 PM PST  B.C. residents and businesses are facing a sharp increase in their electricity bills but are being advised to take solace in the fact they're still shelling out less than almost everyone else in North America. Provincial Energy Minister Bill Bennett … Continue reading →
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| Medical marijuana privacy breach sparks lawsuit Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:02 PM PST  A Halifax law firm has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Health Canada, accusing the federal department of violating the privacy of medical marijuana users.
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| CBC loses control of 'Hockey Night in Canada' to Rogers in blockbuster deal Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:47 PM PST  TORONTO - Canada's hockey TV landscape underwent a seismic shift Tuesday as Rogers Communications wrested control of NHL multimedia rights with a blockbuster 12-year, $5.2-billion agreement that will preserve "Hockey Night in Canada" but limit CBC's role in the iconic broadcast. The deal, the largest in NHL history, gives Rogers national rights to all NHL games, including the playoffs and Stanley Cup final, on all of its platforms in all languages. "It will be the NHL like never before," Rogers Media president Keith Pelley promised at a packed news conference Tuesday, touting a "transformational day" for the industry, as well as Rogers' position as a burgeoning sports broadcasting titan. A sub-licensing agreement with CBC allows the public broadcaster to continue airing "Hockey Night in Canada" on Saturday nights for four years, while TVA in Quebec earned all of the Canadian French-language multi-media rights.
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| Rail-safety audit days before Lac-Megantic crash found 'significant weaknesses' Posted: 26 Nov 2013 12:42 PM PST  OTTAWA - A rail-safety audit completed just days before the deadly July train crash in Lac-Megantic, Que., found "significant weaknesses" in Transport Canada's oversight of federally regulated railways. "What we identified was that there were weaknesses in all aspects of how Transport Canada is overseeing rail safety systems in the (rail) companies," auditor general Michael Ferguson told a news conference Tuesday. His report found that only 14 safety audits of Canada's 31 federally regulated railways had been completed in the previous three years — just a quarter of the audits Transport Canada had expected to carry out. And eight of those 14 audits focused on just the two largest operators, CN and Canadian Pacific, leaving Canada's smaller operators largely unchecked.
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| Video: Trudeau leads Liberals to strong showing in byelection Posted: 26 Nov 2013 06:30 AM PST  The Conservatives and Liberals both held on to two seats in Monday's federal byelection, but the Grits increased vote share in all four ridings. Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says polls show Canadians are ready for a Liberal wave.
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| Ontario and Quebec brace for major winter blast Posted: 26 Nov 2013 08:45 AM PST  Residents of Ontario and Quebec are bracing for their first major blast of wintry weather, as a storm tracking up through the eastern United States is set to clash with frigid Arctic winds to produce a messy mix heavy snow, … Continue reading →
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| Rob Ford: What we would have missed if Toronto mayor lost his job one year ago today Posted: 26 Nov 2013 08:21 AM PST  One year ago today, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was thrown out of office for breaching the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. And then things got weird. Ford vowed to fight the decision, and he did, winning an appeal that returned him to office and gave us a full year of personal train wrecks, political fireworks, threats, crack smoking and memories.
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| PM Stephen Harper’s residence valued at $7.5 million Posted: 26 Nov 2013 12:28 PM PST  Kudos to the Ottawa Citizen's Zev Singer for discovering this U.S. real estate blog about a fictitious listing for 24 Sussex — the prime minister's residence. "Enjoy the natural splendor of Ottawa from this majestic manor built for a prime … Continue reading →
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| B.C. signs agreement to help China with program to wipe out HIV and AIDS Posted: 26 Nov 2013 05:56 PM PST VANCOUVER - The discovery of HIV in a Chinese sect whose members refuse to wear condoms and believe that sex is a fundamental, God-given privilege was the impetus for an agreement on a prevention plan between British Columbia and China. It's a story Dr. Julio Montaner, of the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, loves to tell. Dr. Zunyou Wu, the director of China's Centre for Disease Control, didn't like the B.C. program and "didn't like me," Montaner said with a chuckle. Zunyou believed the B.C. treatment would be medicalizing something he thought should have been controlled by behaviour, Montaner said.  |
| Trudeau's Liberals boost claim to be top contender for power in Canada Posted: 26 Nov 2013 01:57 PM PST  By Randall Palmer OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's Liberals have strengthened their claim to be the main challenger to the governing Conservatives in the next general election after being thrust back into the political mainstream by a strong performance in four special elections. While much can change in the two years before the October 2015 general election, Monday's results have given new momentum to the Liberals - led by Justin Trudeau, son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau - as they strive to get back into contention after a major setback in the 2011 election. The ability to get voters who oppose the Conservatives to coalesce around one of Canada's two main center-left opposition parties is critical if one of them is to defeat Prime Minister Stephen Harper's party in 2015. There are some deep philosophical differences between the Liberals and the New Democratic Party (NDP) on their left.
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