| Vito Rizzuto, Montreal's Mafia boss with a global reach, dead at 67 Posted: 23 Dec 2013 03:17 PM PST  MONTREAL - Vito Rizzuto, the reputed Mafia boss from Montreal whose powerful criminal organization reached well beyond Canada's borders, died Monday in hospital. Rizzuto, who returned to Canada in 2012 after spending six years in a U.S. prison, died of natural causes, said Maude Hebert-Chaput of Montreal's Sacre-Coeur Hospital. "Whenever they call (Rizzuto) the Canadian John Gotti or whatever, I just always laugh at it because John Gotti was a very big fish, but his pond was extremely small," said Lee Lamothe, who co-wrote the book, "The Sixth Family: The Collapse of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto." "But Vito Rizzuto was a big fish in a big pond and he was the biggest fish — I'm talking globally," he said.
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| Hundreds of thousands still without power after weekend ice storm Posted: 23 Dec 2013 08:59 PM PST  TORONTO - A nasty ice storm that left hundreds of thousands without power in Ontario and Quebec tracked through the Maritimes on Monday as authorities worked frantically to clear tree-strewn roadways, restore downed hydro lines and get stranded travellers to their destinations. Environment Canada said the storm had hit Eastern Canada hard. "It was a mighty blow," senior climatologist David Phillips told The Canadian Press. The weather agency said the system had turned particularly vicious thanks to a combination of warm air from Texas colliding with cold air over Canada to create a drawn out period of freezing rain.
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| Victoria man alleges cracked rib police beating Posted: 23 Dec 2013 08:39 PM PST  A Vancouver Island man says he has been left with a cracked rib and is unable to work after allegedly being beaten in a cell by Victoria police.
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| Canadian gemstone considered a national treasure stolen in B.C. heist Posted: 23 Dec 2013 01:57 PM PST  VANCOUVER - It's not a sparkly diamond or a precious sapphire, but police in Vancouver still want to find a stolen gemstone that, in Canadian terms, could rank right up there with the Hope Diamond. The front window of Rocks and Gems Canada was smashed, and Vancouver police spokesman Sgt. Randy Fincham said Monday the crook made off with an ammolite piece worth $500,000. Ammolite is Alberta's official gemstone. It is also ranked as a Canadian national treasure, meaning the federal government must approve an application before it can be taken out of the country.
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| Ice storm havoc snares Maritime travellers Posted: 23 Dec 2013 12:17 PM PST  The song I'll be Home for Christmas seems a bittersweet melody for travellers stuck in airports after an ice storm battered parts of Eastern Canada.
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| Canada economy grows more than expected, boosting recovery hopes Posted: 23 Dec 2013 07:11 AM PST  By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian economy showed unexpected strength in October, growing for the fourth month in a row and boosting market hopes that the country might finally be shaking off the worst of the great recession. Statistics Canada said on Monday the economy had grown by 0.3 percent from September. Although Canada regained most of the jobs it lost since 2008 and 2009, growth has been largely sluggish, prompting the Bank of Canada to make clear it will not raise its key interest rate until it sees signs of a firm recovery. "Canada's economy is showing sustained strength for the first time since the early days of the recovery," said BMO Capital Markets economist Sal Guatieri.
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| Hotel almost $900 a night: Alberta premier on taxpayer group's 'naughty' list Posted: 23 Dec 2013 01:41 PM PST  EDMONTON - The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has put Alberta Premier Alison Redford at the top of its provincial government "naughty" list for staying in a Washington hotel that charged $876 a night. The federation says Redford's posted expense claims also show she charged taxpayers for $22 coffees and a $31 hamburger while in the U.S. capital. The taxpayers group also singled out Thomas Lukaszuk (loo-KAH'-zuhk), who was deputy premier and advanced education minister until a recent cabinet shuffle.
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| Video: Rob Ford - Toronto ice storm not an 'emergency' Posted: 23 Dec 2013 07:45 AM PST  Despite the tens of thousands left without electricity by a weekend ice storm, Toronto mayor Rob Ford declined to declare a state of emergency Monday. The CEO of Toronto Hydro says it may take several days to restore power.
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| Redford enters pivotal 2014 with questions on true political leanings Posted: 23 Dec 2013 12:19 PM PST  EDMONTON - After a bruising 2013, Alberta Premier Alison Redford reaches the midpoint of her mandate in 2014 facing an emerging political question. Who is Alison Redford? Critics say 2013 revealed Redford as an eel-slippery manipulator launched into power by a progressive coalition of liberals, unionists and students whom she then abandoned for a new role as business shill and oilsands-industry glove puppet. "What we tried to do as best as we could was to stick to the plan that we have, which maybe on a day-to-day basis people might feel doesn't reflect what they voted for in the last election," said Redford.
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| Transport Canada inspector falsified safety reports but details under wraps Posted: 23 Dec 2013 02:00 PM PST  OTTAWA - A Transport Canada inspector was fired for falsifying inspection reports but the department refuses to say anything more about the misdeeds in order to protect the former employee's privacy. "The Privacy Act should not be used as an excuse to keep important information on sensitive issues like transport safety secret from Canadians."
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| Supreme Court rules in favour of Montreal animator in children's show battle Posted: 23 Dec 2013 12:19 PM PST  OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Friday in favour of a Montreal animator in his long-running battle over copyright infringement. Claude Robinson had already won at the Quebec Court of Appeal, which ruled that the Montreal company, Cinar, had essentially copied his idea for a children's television show. Robinson was originally awarded more than $5 million in damages, so Cinar appealed to the Supreme Court, and has now lost. Robinson created a children's show concept called The Adventures of Robinson Curiosity in the 1980s that was loosely based on Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe novel.
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| Retailers also hit by winter ice storm that disrupted power, holiday shopping Posted: 23 Dec 2013 02:29 PM PST  TORONTO - A business group says the nasty winter ice storm that walloped parts of Ontario through to Atlantic Canada has also hit retail stores hard during a prime shopping season. The Retail Council of Canada says the weekend storm arrived at a make-or-break time for many stores' profits, with $30 to $40 billion in sales rung up during December.
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| Video: A full life, of crime Posted: 23 Dec 2013 09:39 AM PST  Author and Mafia expert Antonio Nicaso talks about the life and legacy of the late Vito Rizzuto
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| War bride who got wish of meeting a Mountie now friends with man in red serge Posted: 23 Dec 2013 12:16 PM PST  Jenny Stewart had waited decades to meet a Mountie in red serge and was thrilled when her wish came true earlier this year. "He's a Mountie and he's a busy man and I don't expect him to come and see me," she said of RCMP Const.
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| Canadians, Brits, Australians among 3,000 foreigners in violent South Sudan city US evacuated Posted: 23 Dec 2013 06:38 PM PST  NAIROBI, Kenya - British, Canadian and Kenyan citizens are among 3,000 foreigners trapped in a South Sudan city experiencing bouts of heavy machine-gun fire, one of the most violent areas of a weeklong conflict that has likely killed more than 1,000 people, a top U.N. official said Monday. Australians, Ugandans and Ethiopians are also among 17,000 people seeking protection at a U.N. base in Bor, a city that could see increased violence in coming days, said Toby Lanzer, the U.N.'s humanitarian co-ordinator. The death toll from a week of violence in South Sudan has likely surpassed 1,000 people, though there are no firm numbers available, he said. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the Security Council late Monday to add 5,500 troops and police to the 7,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, citing growing violence in many parts of the country, human rights abuses, "and killings fueled by ethnic tensions."
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| Coroner confirms identity of Alberta man who died in B.C. avalanche Posted: 23 Dec 2013 01:03 PM PST VANCOUVER - The coroners office has confirmed the identity of a 29-year-old Alberta snowboarder who died during an avalanche in eastern British Columbia.  |
| Nova Scotia plans to spend $535 million on roads, schools, adds to debt Posted: 23 Dec 2013 09:16 AM PST  HALIFAX - Nova Scotia's finance minister estimates the province is going to have to add at least $125 million to its debt to maintain roads, schools and other infrastructure in 2014-15. Diana Whelan released the province's capital spending plans Monday, with about half of the $535 million targeted at highways, bridges and other structures, such as dykes, around the province. The government says the provincial debt stands at almost $14 billion. Whelan recently released a budget forecast showing the province has fallen deeply into the red, with a deficit figure of $481.7 million for 2013-14.
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| Two more settlements reached over alleged abuse at Ontario institutions Posted: 23 Dec 2013 07:58 PM PST TORONTO - Tentative settlements totalling $32.7 million have been reached for former residents of two Ontario institutions for the developmentally disabled who alleged they were abused at the facilities. The class-action suits were launched by former residents of the Rideau Regional Centre in Smiths Falls, Ont., and the Southwestern Regional Centre near Chatham, Ont. The settlements — which a lawyer for the lawsuits says amount to $20.6 million for Rideau and nearly $12.1 million for Southwestern — must be approved by a judge. The plaintiffs alleged that physical and mental abuse as well as the unnecessary administration of medication took place at the institutions between 1963 to when the they closed late in the first decade of the 2000s. The deals come after a judge earlier this month approved a similar $35-million class-action settlement for former residents of the Huronia Regional Centre in Orillia, Ont.  |
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