| Suspended senators may not be entirely off public payroll Posted: 06 Nov 2013 03:19 PM PST  OTTAWA - The Conservative government is scrambling to figure out if the suspensions of three of its own senators actually means they're entirely off the public payroll, as Prime Minister Stephen Harper claims. Tuesday's suspensions of Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau for allegedly fraudulent expense claims are without precedent and the government still hasn't figured out all the ramifications. Among the lingering questions: Is Duffy eligible for a disability allowance? Good questions — and it's up to the Senate to answer them, said Treasury Board President Tony Clement, the chief guardian of the public purse.
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| Canadian anti-whaling activist Paul Watson testifies in U.S. court Posted: 06 Nov 2013 09:34 PM PST  SEATTLE - A fugitive activist known for attacking Japanese whaling vessels off Antarctica insisted "we're not pirates" Wednesday as he addressed a U.S. appeals court considering whether he and the organization he founded should be held in contempt. Paul Watson, the Canadian founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, took the witness stand in a Seattle courtroom. Japanese whalers accuse them of violating a court order demanding that they leave the whalers alone. "We don't care what people call us," Watson said, responding to an earlier ruling from the court that called the activists "pirates."
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| Alberta construction crew finds fossilized remains of another hadrosaur Posted: 06 Nov 2013 09:28 PM PST  LEDUC, Alta. - It appears that you can't dig a deep hole in Alberta without finding a duck-billed dinosaur. For the second time in weeks, construction crews have discovered the fossilized remains of a hadrosaur, a plant-eating creature that stalked the Earth about 68 million years ago. A crew helping to build a housing development found the fossils six metres below the surface and called the Royal Tyrrell Museum to report the find. The crew then helped museum staff carefully remove dirt and rock from the prehistoric buried treasure.
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| PQ values charter gets a new, 28-word name Posted: 06 Nov 2013 03:23 PM PST  QUEBEC - The Parti Quebecois' controversial values charter is being rebranded — and its official new name is a mouthful. It will be tabled Thursday as a bill in the legislature under the formal title: Charter Affirming The Values Of Secularism And The Religious Neutrality Of The State, As Well As The Equality Of Men And Women, And The Framing Of Accommodation Requests. Bernard Drainville says the title was selected by government lawyers who worked on the bill, and he says they always like long names that include the major details in the title. "There's no new phrasing," Drainville told reporters Wednesday, downplaying the new turn of phrase.
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| Senior policy adviser resigns from Mayor Rob Ford’s office Posted: 06 Nov 2013 10:09 AM PST  The script isn't new, we should have seen this coming. One day after Toronto Mayor Rob Ford confessed to smoking crack cocaine, one of his staff members has left City Hall. The Toronto Star confirmed that policy adviser Brooks Barnett … Continue reading →
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| Stronger distracted driving punishments could be coming to Ontario Posted: 06 Nov 2013 02:07 PM PST  Nowadays, there are fewer things than ever that cut through the games of partisan politics and unite politicians of all stripes. Every issue, it seems, is viewed as a chance to score points; an opportunity to attack your opponent and … Continue reading →
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| Alberta Conservative Ted Menzies declares he's resigning as an MP Posted: 06 Nov 2013 10:15 AM PST  OTTAWA - Alberta Conservative backbench MP Ted Menzies, who last summer declared he wouldn't run again in 2015, has announced his immediate resignation from the House of Commons. "The time has come for me to move on," Menzies said, noting that his decision earlier this year to surrender his ministerial duties allowed him to focus on helping flood-ravaged residents of southern Alberta. In a statement, Prime Minister Stephen Harper thanked Menzies for "many years of devoted service to his constituents of Macleod in the Parliament of Canada and for his tremendous contributions to our government." "Since his election to the House of Commons, Ted has been a strong voice and advocate for Alberta, and a valued member within our caucus," Harper said.
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| Bail hearing next week in Montreal airport explosives case Posted: 06 Nov 2013 10:38 AM PST  MONTREAL - A Montreal man charged with trying to board an airplane with a suitcase containing explosive material will have a bail hearing next week. At a court appearance Wednesday, the prosecution requested a delay until Nov. 12 and Antony Piazza's defense lawyer agreed. "The investigation is still ongoing and there is evidence that needs to be disclosed with the discovery process and we have to go through all the documentation we have," Crown prosecutor Alexandre Gautier told reporters outside the courtroom. Piazza, 71, faces three charges in the wake of his arrest at Montreal's Trudeau airport last month, causing lengthy flight delays and eventually leading police to block off the area around his house.
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| Verizon hires lobbyist on Canadian telecom policy Posted: 06 Nov 2013 05:25 AM PST  U.S. telecommunications giant Verizon Telecommunications has hired a lobbyist to meet with federal politicians in Canada, including personnel in the Prime Minister's Office, about changes to telecom policy.
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| Senator Pamela Wallin’s lawyer says his client may sue Posted: 06 Nov 2013 07:46 AM PST  With all that's happened in the past couple of weeks, no one should be surprised to learn that Senators Pamela Wallin, Mike Duffy and Patrick Brazeau aren't going way quietly. The morning after the Senate voted to temporarily turf the … Continue reading →
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| If Mayor Rob Ford has ‘nothing left to hide,’ will he now speak to police? Posted: 06 Nov 2013 09:40 AM PST  "Folks, I have nothing left to hide." That was what Toronto Mayor Rob Ford said on Tuesday after admitting to smoking crack cocaine and claiming his conscience was finally clean. The next thing he did, however, was leave a press … Continue reading →
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| Composite sketch prompts dozens of tips as police seek suspect in UBC attacks Posted: 06 Nov 2013 11:03 AM PST RCMP Sgt. Peter Thiessen says investigators have received 57 tips of varying reliability in barely 24 hours since issuing a composite sketch of the man believed responsible for six assaults since last April. Thiessen says the tips have arrived from across the province and around Canada and that officers are working through the details, hopeful they will lead to a break in the case.  |
| Reports suggest free trade deal with European Union may be over-hyped Posted: 06 Nov 2013 01:46 PM PST OTTAWA - Two new independent reports are playing down the benefits of the recently concluded free trade deal with Europe, casting doubts on the Harper government's contention that it is key to Canada's economic prosperity. The reports from Capital Economics and, most recently, the Royal Bank, predict the agreement, called CETA, will be a net benefit for Canada but that the gains are still too early to determine, or will be modest. "It's political so there's lots of hype around the deal," said David Madani, chief economist with the private-sector research firm Capital Economics in Toronto. "Most people understand that Canada's trade with the EU (European Union) is small so it's not going to have a huge benefit.  |
| Tom Mulcair says Harper is 'the problem,' not senators Posted: 06 Nov 2013 10:00 AM PST  NDP Leader Tom Mulcair says Stephen Harper is responsible for the Senate scandal because he appointed Pamela Wallin, Mike Duffy and Patrick Brazeau, who have been suspended from the Senate.
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| RCMP criticized for inability to help Mounties with PTSD, mental health issues Posted: 06 Nov 2013 01:21 PM PST  A lot has been written recently, including in this space, about the problems some Canadian veterans have in getting treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We've heard less about the continuing problem of police officers whose duties expose them to … Continue reading →
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| Anti-war white poppy campaign on eve of Remembrance Day again stirs anger, criticism Posted: 06 Nov 2013 11:58 AM PST  I saw my first white poppy earlier this week, on the lapel of a woman walking past the coffee shop where I was having lunch. The Royal Canadian Legion's annual poppy campaign is in full swing as we head towards … Continue reading →
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| Jon Stewart mixes laughter with somber concern over Mayor Rob Ford’s drug issues Posted: 06 Nov 2013 06:37 AM PST  Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, who has smoked crack, continues to garner the attention of television talk shows south of the border. And while much of the coverage is justified laughter, the serious realization that Toronto is led by a man … Continue reading →
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| Is Toronto getting what it deserves? Posted: 06 Nov 2013 08:52 AM PST  Ah, Toronto. Home of the CN Tower. Home of Canada's only NBA franchise and the financial heart of the nation. And now, Toronto is home to Canada's crack-smoking mayor. Long mocked for its condescending attitudes and centre-of-the-universe perspectives, Canada's most … Continue reading →
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| No end in sight for Toronto mayor crack saga Posted: 06 Nov 2013 01:59 PM PST  By Allison Martell TORONTO (Reuters) - Protesters left colorful chalk messages on walls and pavement outside Toronto City Hall on Wednesday urging Mayor Rob Ford to quit after his bombshell admission on Tuesday that he has smoked crack cocaine. Another said: "This wall would be a better mayor." But Ford's chalk-wielding opponents may have a long wait. "Rob Ford is a liar," is how the Globe and Mail, Canada's staid national paper, opened its editorial on Wednesday. Rob Ford has shown time and again that he's not that guy." A bloc of angry city councilors is now set to try to pass motions to curb Ford's already limited powers as a Toronto mayor, but it is very difficult to remove a sitting mayor.
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| Canada building permits up 1.7 percent in Sept, after jerky summer Posted: 06 Nov 2013 05:43 AM PST  Increased plans for housing construction helped edge the value of Canadian building permits up by 1.7 percent in September after permits were whipsawed by a gain and loss of more than 20 percent in July and August. Statistics Canada reported on Wednesday that it was the seventh monthly advance for building permits since the start of 2013, yet the total value in September was only 0.2 percent higher than in September 2012. Year on year, September housing building permits were down 2.9 percent.
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