***** Canada Business News *****

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New Edmonton clinics have no staff

New urgent-care and family practice clinics in north Edmonton can't open because there's no money to pay for staff, says Marianne Stewart, a vice-president with Alberta Health Services.

The East Edmonton Health Centre cost $44 million to build and officially opened in June, with mental health, home care and social services among its offerings. But the urgent-care and family practice clinics have no staff.

"We don't know when it's going to open," Stewart said. "Things take time, and it's no secret that we need to manage and balance our budgets, and there are multiple, multiple priorities that have to be in place before we can just push one over another."

'Sounds like it's sitting there like a white elephant, looking pretty.'—Linda Maude, north Edmonton resident
The health centre was designed to be a one-stop shop for health care, offering child health services such as immunizations, dental services, speech and language services, and adult services including mental health care, home care, communicable disease control and community education classes.

Situated just north of Edmonton's downtown, the spacious new clinic is meant to serve a community with high levels of chronic illness and mental health issues.

But the urgent-care and family practice clinics can't open until Alberta Health finds the $9 million needed annually to fund the equivalent of 36 full-time staff, which doesn't include the four family physicians needed to fill the space.

"We have tabled our budget," Stewart said. "We will see what we have. We're still working through those things, looking at our list of priorities, where we have pressures, what we're going to do first.

Linda Maude, a community resident, said she would use the clinics if they were open.

"Sounds like it's sitting there like a white elephant, looking pretty," she said. "Why would you build new hospitals when you a) don't have enough staff, and b) you have staff freezes on? You know, it seems illogical to me."



Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2010/08/04/ed-east-edmonton-health-centre-clinic-closed.html#ixzz0vikaybPZ

 

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Crime statistics not accurate, Day suggests
Unreported crimes increasing, Day says


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/08/03/canada-economy-stockwell-day.html#ixzz0vilV7SvK


Treasury Board President Stockwell Day says the government will go ahead with its plan to spend billions for new prisons, suggesting statistics that show crime is declining in Canada are not accurate.

Treasury Board President Stockwell Day speaks during a news conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa on Tuesday. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
During a news conference on Tuesday in Ottawa, Day said the government has received indications that more and more people are not reporting crimes committed against them.

"It shows we can’t take a Liberal view to crime which is, some would suggest, that it is barely happening at all," Day said. "Still, there are too many situations of criminal activity that are alarming to our citizens, and we intend to deal with that."

When questioned by perplexed reporters, Day did not elaborate on what information source he was basing his claims, but said he would provide figures to them later.

P.O.V.:
Have you ever been the victim of a crime you didn’t report to authorities? Take our poll.
Speaking shortly after Day, Liberal MP Mark Holland said his comments show Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government "doesn't have any respect for facts."

"You don't make up statistics to try to scare people and use crime as a wedge issue," Holland told reporters in Ottawa.

In a statement to CBC News on Tuesday afternoon, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson's office cited Statistics Canada's report of its last general social survey conducted in 2004, which found an estimated 34 per cent of Canadians who are victims of crime still aren't reporting the crime to police.

The statement said Day was "correct in his assertion that many crimes go unreported in Canada" and "[t]he amount of unreported victimization can be substantial."

According to the Statistics Canada survey, conducted every five years, an estimated 88 per cent of sexual assaults go unreported, as well as an estimated 69 per cent of household thefts, the minister's office said.

The information gathered from the 2009 survey on unreported crimes has yet to be released.

Fiscal restraint, census changes staying
In the meantime, the federal government will not ease off on plans for fiscal restraint in other departments, despite indications Canada could eliminate its deficit a year earlier than predicted, Day said.

Last week, the Conference Board of Canada said the federal government should be able to eliminate the annual budget deficit by 2015. The business think-tank said in a report it depends on the government sticking to its promises to constrain spending.

Day said that while the global economic recovery is still "somewhat fragile," the government will continue with its freezes on spending, as well as departmental reviews to look for savings.

"We will be sticking to our fiscal plan," Day said.

In its February budget, the federal government projected a budgetary shortfall of $54 billion in 2010 but said annual deficits should be eliminated through spending cuts by 2016.

The treasury board president also was adamant that the Conservative government will stick with its controversial plan to scrap the mandatory long-form census.

The government has faced a month of turmoil ever since it announced in late June it would end the mandatory survey and replace it with a voluntary form. Opposition parties, statisticians' groups, provinces, municipalities and social agencies have condemned the move, saying it would lower the quality of data gathered by Statistics Canada and used by a wide array of policy makers.

The government has maintained Canadians should not be coerced through threat of jail time or fines to fill out information they don't want to disclose.

When questioned by reporters over the opposition parties' suggestions to amend the Statistics Act to remove the threat of jail time for those who refuse to fill out long-form census, Day said the government is "open to discussion" on any move to stop "criminalizing Canadians" who don't want to answer "intrusive" questions.

Day maintained the mandatory long-form survey will be abandoned in the spring 2011 census, but said the short-form census will remain compulsory because the government requires "some basic data."

He also questioned the value of information gathered by the census, suggesting data older than a year is "untenable in today's information age."

Day also acknowledged he has only heard directly from three people on the census issue in his constituency.



Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/08/03/canada-economy-stockwell-day.html#ixzz0vilPnovt

 

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Finding a new StatsCan boss could be tough, observers say

OTTAWA — The federal government could have a tough time filling the job of chief statistician at Statistics Canada unless it compromises on the 2011 census, some experts are warning, and whoever does eventually accept the appointment will face considerable challenges in leading the agency out of its recent turmoil.


The future direction of Statistics Canada is not just of interest to its employees and users of its data though, observers say, but everyday Canadians should care too because what the agency produces, and the census in particular, touches everyone's lives.


The top job was left vacant July 21 when Munir Sheikh gave it up because of the Conservatives' decision to axe the mandatory long-form census and replace it with a voluntary survey. The decision unleashed an ongoing backlash from a wide range of stakeholders who say the new National Household Survey is not an equitable replacement for the long census and will produce biased data.


According to Sheikh, he had to end his lengthy public service career because doubts arose about the nature of the advice Statistics Canada provided to the government on the matter. Industry Minister Tony Clement, the minister responsible for Statistics Canada, seemed to suggest in media reports that the agency was supportive of the government's surprise move to cancel the long questionnaire when in fact it was not.


Sheikh said he couldn't head an agency whose reputation has suffered and he quit. The question now is, who would want to step in to the agency amid the controversy that surrounds it?


Ivan Fellegi, Sheikh's predecessor as chief statistician, said in order for the government to find a suitable replacement it must first resolve the census issue.


"No really good person is likely to want this job with that hanging over his head or her head," Fellegi said in an interview. In a submission to the House of Commons industry committee, which held a special meeting on the census on July 27, Fellegi said Statistics Canada "is leaderless and in the midst of an unprecedented crisis" with the 2011 census just months away from commencement.


"It is utterly essential that in the midst of this crisis the next chief statistician be a person who is non-partisan and who was selected by a process that is visible above partisan fray," Fellegi wrote to the committee.


When Sheikh resigned, Wayne Smith, an assistant chief statistician at the agency, was appointed interim chief. It's not known whether he wants the job permanently, he declined an interview request.


Chief statistician is an appointment made by the Governor General, on the advice of the cabinet, but Fellegi instead wants the government to form a search panel made up of experts to recommend candidates for the six-figure salary job.


A search panel has been used once before, in the late 1970s when Statistics Canada found itself in similar circumstances to now with concerns over a potentially tarnished reputation. Back then the agency was embroiled in criticisms over its management practices and other problems and in 1980, a statistician named Martin Wilk left his job in the United States with AT&T to come back to Canada and lead the organization. He is credited with restoring morale and implementing a series of measures that got Statistics Canada back on track.


Rejuvenating Statistics Canada following this current period of upheaval will be just one of many challenges that Sheikh's successor will face, according to Ernie Boyko, a former senior employee at the agency.


"I think it's pretty safe to say that morale is sagging, there's no question about that," said Boyko, who was the director of census operations at Statistics Canada in the 1990s.


Beyond an atmosphere filled with uncertainty at Statistics Canada headquarters in Ottawa, the new head will be taking over at a time when the agency is preparing to administer the now-controversial 2011 census and there will likely be bumps along that road given what's transpired.


Boyko and others said there's a long tradition of Statistics Canada acting independently from the government and that census episode has changed that dynamic, which will also make the recruiting process for a chief statistician difficult in their view.


"It would be very hard for a statistician, I think, to lead an agency if it's clear the government can change the methodology, or dictate, when it wishes, methodology," said Don McLeish, president of the Statistical Society of Canada. "I still think probably they can find someone to lead it. It means they have to find someone that agrees with their positions, for example, on the census — and I've never met a statistician who agrees with their position."


McLeish said the government has to relent on the changes it's made to the census in order to find a reputable statistician to replace Sheikh.


Perhaps a non-statistician will take the job, but whoever it is should still work at re-asserting the independence of Statistics Canada, said McLeish.


He and Fellegi both spoke of the importance that the arms-length nature of operations at the agency plays in fostering public trust in the work Statistics Canada does.


"Since you can't check it most of the time, you either trust the provider or the information is kind of useless," said Fellegi.


If the next chief statistician is regarded as a partisan appointee, it could cast doubt on the decisions he or she makes in the role.


Before the census controversy erupted earlier in the summer, most Canadians likely gave little thought to what the questionnaire entails and how the information derived from it affects their daily lives. But what stores are in their neighbourhood, for example, or where their kids can go to school, or, if there's a bus route to get them to work, are all decisions based on census data, critics say, and that data is at risk because of the government's actions.


"There is not a life that isn't touched by the census," Liberal MP Mark Holland said this week.


Canadians should also care about what Statistics Canada does, Fellegi noted, because billions of dollars are spent by governments based on the information collected by the agency. On a broader level, the organization also carries out the function of documenting Canada as a country.


"It's hugely important. What we know about the country, other than through history and through anecdotal evidence, all comes from Statistics Canada," he said.

 

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New curriculum coming to Ont. schools

Bullying, cyberstalking, drug abuse and defibrillators are among the new subjects coming this fall to elementary school classrooms across Ontario.

The governing Liberals are forging ahead with almost all of their changes to the province's health and physical education curriculum, which hadn't been updated since 1998.

"About 90 per cent of the proposed health and physical education curriculum is going forward, and that relates to such issues as gym, fitness, healthy eating, drug abuse," said Frank Clarke, a spokesman for Education Minister Leona Dombrowsky.

Only the sex education portion of the curriculum — whose controversial reforms were scrapped in April after it raised the ire of parents and religious groups — will remain unchanged.

A public uproar over revisions that would have included Grade 3 students learning about sexual orientation and the subject of masturbation being broached in Grade 6 forced the government to ditch the changes it had publicly defended for days.

Premier Dalton McGuinty promised to consult more widely with parents before making any modifications to sex ed, but it's still unclear when that will happen.

"Right now, the ministry is basically reviewing the options for a broader consultation," Clarke said. "That's basically where we're at."

But parents can expect lessons on healthy eating, drug and alcohol abuse and even dating violence, starting in September.

Lessons on eating healthy will start in Grade 1, when kids will be introduced to the Canada Food Guide and learn about different food groups. Grade 3 students will get a lesson on how local foods can expand the range of healthy eating choices and Grade 5 students will learn how to read nutrition labels.

Effects of alcohol, drug use to be taught in Grades 5-6
Grade 4 students will learn how to identify substances like tar and carbon monoxide in cigarettes, as well as various types of bullying and abuse.

The effects of alcohol use will be covered in Grade 5, and factors that can influence people to use drugs — such as television and peer pressure — will be taught in Grade 6.

Grade 7 students will get lessons on the benefits and dangers — like cyberstalking and online gambling — of using computers and other technologies.

Grade 8 students will learn about using defibrillators to restart a heart that has stopped, as well as analyze the impact of violent behaviours — including race-based violence and dating violence — and learn how to prevent it.

The new curriculum also spells out that all students must spend 20 minutes a day doing some kind of physical activity.

That requirement has actually been in effect for the last couple of years, said Annie Kidder of People for Education, a parent-led organization.

Physical education isn't just about running around the track anymore, but a whole range of issues that kids need to understand, she said. Schools are the most effective places to reach them.

"It's really important that we be talking to them about a wide range of stuff when they're really young, so that we're thinking about our interactions with other people, and we're thinking about how we eat, and we're thinking about how to keep ourselves safe in all sorts of ways," Kidder said.

"So it's school as a part of society, as opposed to school sort of disconnected from society."

Sex education is a big part of keeping kids healthy, and it's sad that a "very small group" of people managed to convince the government to scuttle those reforms, Kidder added.

"Sometimes there's a tendency in a year before an election not to do anything that might be construed as controversial," she said.

"So I hope it's not just going to get left."

That's exactly what will happen, said NDP education critic Rosario Marchese.

The government is "utterly afraid" to move ahead with any reforms, he said.

"Instead of doing the right thing — which they had done — they've given that up because of a potential backlash from some sectors," he added. "And so they're going to stay with the status quo for as long as they can."

After trying to sneak in contentious sex ed reforms, the government should at least make an effort to get it right this time around, said Progressive Conservative Elizabeth Witmer.

"Moms and dads have the right to know what is contained in any curriculum, and any time a major change is made, they need to be informed," she said.

"And I think that's one thing this government isn't doing well."



Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/08/08/ontario-curriculum.html#ixzz0w4kwRfSv

 

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Thief holds yard sale with 'criminal' prices

Getting a bargain at a garage sale can sometimes feel like a steal, and recently in Sarnia, Ont., that's exactly what customers got.

Police have arrested a man they say held an impromptu garage sale in June. But everything he sold didn't belong to him.

Police said a 26-year-old man broke into a home on London Road in Sarnia on June 17, opened up the garage, and held a garage sale over several hours.

Police said the man sold approximately $40,000 worth of property as neighbours on the city street looked on.

'There were a lot of people who got really good deals out there.'—Staff Sgt. Doug Warn
"No one confronted this person, and he held this sale for several hours," said Staff Sgt. Doug Warn.

Police said the man sold the items, mostly expensive tools and woodworking equipment, for pennies on the dollar.



Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/windsor/story/2010/08/06/sarnia-impromptu-garage-sale-bandit-100806.html#ixzz0w4le31RR

 

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Job losses up in Canada, U.S.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday he's not considering a second round of government economic stimulus — at least not for now — after Statistics Canada reported the country lost 139,000 full-time jobs in July.

Harper, emerging from Rideau Hall after a minor cabinet shuffle, said he does not believe the Canadian economy is slipping back into recession.

Job seekers arrive at an employment centre in California in July. Both Canada and the U.S. lost jobs last month. (Paul Sakuma/Associated Press)
"The job numbers today indicate what we've been saying: the global recovery remains fragile," he said.

"It's not going to be all smooth. The trend lines have generally been good. At the moment, I certainly don't see any indication of a second stimulus."

The loss of those full-time positions was softened somewhat by the gain of 129,700 part-time jobs for a net loss of 9,300, which pushed the unemployment rate up by 0.1 percentage points, to eight per cent.

The drop was the first fall in employment this year.

Canadian Auto Workers president Ken Lewenza said the numbers show the country is still recovering from the recession.

He called for an extension of employment insurance stimulus measures, including an extra five weeks of benefits for all claimants and a task force to look at the future of good full-time jobs in Canada.

The Canadian number represented the first decline in seven months after the number of jobs rose by 93,200 in June and by a record 108,700 in April.

Not a fundamental shift
"The first drop in employment since December does not signal a fundamental shift in the economy," Bank of Montreal economist Douglas Porter said.

"Overall, this report appears to be a very mild payback for previously amazing strength, and the bigger picture is that almost all of the recession's job losses have been reversed in the very short space of a year."

Quebec had the biggest losses, at 21,000, with Ontario following with 15,000. British Columbia gained 16,000, while Alberta added 9,000.

The goods-producing sector gained 42,000 jobs, 29,000 of them in manufacturing. The services industry shed 30,000.

The employment picture was worse in the U.S.

The world's largest economy lost 131,000 jobs in July, keeping the American unemployment rate at 9.5 per cent, the Labour Department reported Friday. The rate was unchanged in part because of a drop in the number of people looking for work.

The Labour Department reported public service jobs fell by 202,000, while private employment rose by 71,000.

Much of the public sector decline was driven by a 143,000 fall in temporary jobs that had been created by the American census taking, which has now ended.

Alistair Bentley, an economist with TD Economics, suggested in a commentary that the prospects of bringing U.S. unemployment down soon are "not promising."

As employment improves, he said, more people will start searching for work again and it will take the creation of more than 121,000 jobs a month to lower the unemployment rate.

Sal Guatieri, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, suggested the report could lead Washington to announce more spending programs.

"Anemic job growth and still-high unemployment could pressure Fed policy makers to undertake further stimulus in the months ahead," he said.

Markets move lower
North American markets initially moved lower after the release of the jobs data, but later recovered.

Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index was up 15 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 11,790 in the last hour of trading.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 74 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 10,601. The Nasdaq composite index lost 14 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 2,279, while the S&P 500 index was down nine points, or 0.8 per cent, to 1,117.

The Canadian dollar fell 1.24 cents, to 97.09 cents US.



Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/08/06/canada-job-employment.html#ixzz0w4mGSXPA

 

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Canada's economy added 93,000 jobs in June

Statistics Canada reports the Canadian economy added 93,200 jobs in June. Almost all of the jobs added are in Ontario (+60,000) and Quebec (+30,000). The large number of jobs added dropped Canada's unemployment rate to 7.9%. The current unemployment rate in the US is 9.5%. The statistic indicates the strength of the domestic economy in Canada.

The addition of 93,200 jobs is five times more what many economists were predicting for the month of June. About half the jobs added are part-time, the other half are full-time positions. Since July 2009, most of the employment gains have been in full-time work, up 355,000 or 2.6, while part-time work rose by 1.5%.

The private sector was responsible for 51,900 of the new positions. Notable employment increases in June were in service industries including business, building and other support services; retail and wholesale trade; health care and social assistance; and other services such as personal care services and automotive repair. Employment in construction increased by 11,000 jobs. The construction industry has had the fastest growth rate of all major industry groups since July 2009 (+8.3% or +94,000).

In less than one year, Canada has almost made up all the jobs lost during the recession that began towards the end of 2008. The economy has added 246,200 jobs in the last four months alone.

Canadian employers are actively seeking foreign skilled workers to join their workforce. Skilled workers that settle in Canada on a permanent basis are especially valuable to the Canadian workforce. Those with a job offer from a Canadian employer may qualify for fast-track Canadian immigration application processing under the Federal Skilled Worker (Professional) category of immigration.

 

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Most Canadians concerned over food safety: Poll

OTTAWA — A majority of Canadians is concerned with the safety of their food and most say they trust food that comes from Canada more than imported food, results of a poll suggest.


Some 77 per cent of Canadians said they were either "very" or "somewhat" concerned with the safety of the food they eat, up from 66 per cent in 2007, according to results of the Ipsos Reid poll conducted for Postmedia News.


Another 87 per cent agree that they trust food that comes from Canada more than food that comes from abroad, with 85 per cent of respondents saying they make an effort to buy locally-grown and produced food.


"There is an increased awareness of your own personal well-being and health and the food that you eat," said Sean Simpson, a senior research manager at Ipsos Reid.


"Canadians are saying that they think that the food that comes from Canada is safer. They know if it's produced just in the next county over, it hasn't been shipped, it's fresh, it might not have as many preservatives, all of those kinds of things. And that contributes to the overall feeling of well-being, and support for the local economy."


While 91 per cent of Canadians said that, in general, they trust the safety of the food that they eat, the poll shows a growing concern over food safety in general, that reflects an increased concern over food production, said Simpson.


"Even if you trust in the food that you eat, in the back of your mind, you're maybe wondering how it's prepared, where it came from, those kinds of things," he said.


The findings also suggest a majority of Canadians, at 68 per cent, believe Canadian food is safer than imported food.


While Canadians strive to eat locally, some 37 per cent believe that Canadian food is more expensive than imported food, but almost 70 per cent agree that they are willing to pay more for it.


A majority, at almost 60 per cent, also agree that importing food from all over the world is bad for the environment.


The results come on the heels of some high-profile tainted food scandals, most notably the listeriosis outbreak in 2008 at a Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto that led to the deaths of 22 people and made hundreds more ill.


More recently, a July 31 national recall of all ready-to-eat meats manufactured by G. Brandt Meat Packers at its Mississauga, Ont., plant followed 23 confirmed cases of salmonella associated with Brandt in British Columbia and one case in Ontario.


While the poll does not differentiate between fresh and manufactured food, local food advocates say the results show an increased willingness to eat local or fair-trade products.


"Even though it seems silly and a bit utopian to imagine small producers being safer, what people like me believe is that it's true. You'll always have some problem, you'll always have contamination, you'll always have some airborne illness. But if it's kept local, its impact is much smaller," said Debbie Field, executive director of the Toronto-based food advocacy group FoodShare.


Field said that she does not advocate local-only eating, but said Canadians should try to eat in-season produce and avoid manufactured food.


"I have a mantra which goes like this: healthy, which means fresh fruit and vegetables, at any time of the year; local when possible; fair trade and organic if possible," she said.


The poll was conducted between July 23 and July 30, 2010. A sample of 1,014 from Ipsos Reid's Canadian online panel was interviewed. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100 per cent response rate would have an estimated margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

 

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Canada posts $1-billion-plus trade deficit for June

OTTAWA — The latest data on Canada's trade situation with the rest of the world suggests the country is increasingly becoming a net buyer rather than seller of goods.


The merchandise trade deficit rose to $1.1 billion in June from an upwardly revised $695 million in May, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. Economists polled by Bloomberg expected the trade deficit to narrow to $300 million.


It marked the fourth straight month Canada has run a trade deficit and the first time since August last year it has exceeded $1 billion.


Up until December 2008, Canada had gone more than 32 years without running a monthly trade deficit. Including that month and since then, there have been trade deficits in 13 of the 19 months reported. Just one of the six surpluses in that time frame has been more than $1 billion.


Multi-billion-dollar trade surpluses were recently the norm for Canada on a monthly basis, with levels going as high as $7 billion to $8 billion in the early 2000s.


"This relates to the big run-up we've had in the Canadian dollar since 2002, which for a while was covered by an equivalent run-up in commodity prices that kept our trade balance in healthy shape," said Avery Shenfeld, chief economist with CIBC World Markets.


Shenfeld said Canada can expect to see regular trade deficits until a strong recovery in the global economy prompts a sufficient rise in commodity prices.


In the meantime, he said a loonie that consistently trades in the range of 90 cents to par with the U.S. dollar has created a disadvantage for Canadian exporters of non-resource goods compared with when the dollar was in the 60- to 70-cent U.S. range.


Nonetheless, Shenfeld said too much focus on the trade balance can sometimes take attention away from strong growth in exports when it happens to be offset by gains in imports, due to domestic economic strength. He noted that Canada was seeing some healthy growth in export levels early this year and late last year.


In June, however, both exports and imports were down.


Exports fell 2.5 per cent to $33.5 billion. Less outgoing value in industrial goods and materials accounted for two-thirds of the decline, and energy and automotive exports were also down, Statistics Canada said.


Imports were off 1.2 per cent to $34.6 billion largely as a result a of less incoming energy products. There were, however, more imports of industrial goods and materials.


"Overall, this was a very disappointing report as it suggests that the once buoyant trade sector has lost a significant portion of the positive momentum that has contributed in the past few quarters to the strong performance of the Canadian economy," said Millan Mulraine, senior strategist at TD Securities.


"And with the domestic economy appearing to be easing off the accelerator, the drag from net trade . . . comes at a time when the overall outlook for the Canadian economy is weakening."


Canada's trade surplus with the United States narrowed to $3 billion in June from $3.4 billion in May as exports declined one per cent imports rose 0.8 per cent.


In the U.S., meanwhile, the trade deficit widened unexpectedly to $49.9 billion U.S. in June — the highest level since October 2008 — on declining overall exports and as imports of consumer goods rose, the U.S. Commerce Department reported. Economists polled by Bloomberg had forecast a trade deficit of $42.1 billion.


"The strength in imports, though hinting at some pickup in consumer spending, continues to undermine GDP growth. Moreover, the slowing in exports will only fan fears of a faltering U.S. recovery," BMO Capital Markets senior economist Sal Guatieri said in a research note.

 

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Canada’s economic recovery ‘by no means a sure thing,’ expert

NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. — Canada avoided the brutal financial meltdown that plagued the U.S. economy, but there are some red flags that make recovery for this country “by no means a sure thing,” says a leading U.S. economist.

Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize winner, New York Times columnist and renowned economic pundit, described Canada as “a very calm, very happy story” during the world economic crisis.

Canada escaped relatively unscathed, through a combination of good luck and sound, conservative regulation of banking and consumer debt in which “it is not so easy to use your house as an ATM,” Krugman told the Canadian Bar Association.

“Canada is an example of the virtues of a relatively traditional approach, a country that did not get caught up in the euphoria of banking innovation,” he said in a speech to hundreds of lawyers.

However, he warned that Canadians’ lavish spending habits, stubbornly high unemployment, and rising housing costs are potential trouble spots that could potentially turn a good news story into a bad one.

“There are a few aspects of Canada that are not scary but a little disturbing,” warned Krugman, a Princeton University professor.

“Canada is by no means insulated. It’s by no means a sure thing that everything is going to be OK.”

Despite better banking regulation, Canadians tend to “spend and borrow and awful lot like Americans,” Krugman said in his speech.

“Household debt relative to total income is very high here, not quite as high as the United States but getting close.”

On the plus side, however, Canadian confidence in the financial sector has not been shot, and it is helpful for Canada to have its own floating currency, Krugman said.

The Bank of Canada, in an economic forecast late last month, acknowledged that the global recovery would slow down as a result of an increased focus on budget-cutting at the household and government levels.

As a result, the central bank trimmed its growth outlook for the Canadian economy to 3.5 per cent this year and 2.9 per cent in 2011, compared with earlier estimates of 3.7 per cent and 3.1 per cent expansion.

The Bank of Canada reported that economic growth petered out in the second quarter of this year, following softer household spending and declining real-estate activity.


In a separate speech on Sunday, Canada’s chief justice also weighed in on the foundation of a solid and sustainable economy, saying that it depends on a strong justice system and commitment to human rights.

“In the short term, a country that violates human rights can appear to be just and experience economic growth,” said Beverley McLachlin.

“But in the long term, instability and the waste of human potential, which are a direct result of a systematic suppression of individual rights and economic freedom, will invariably cause its downfall.”

With files from Paul Vieira, National Post

 

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Canada commits $33M to Pakistan flood victims

The Canadian government has announced it will commit as much as $33 million to help flood victims in Pakistan.


"The people of Canada stand shoulder to shoulder with you in this time of need," Conservative House leader John Baird said Saturday in Toronto, as he revealed details of the new funding.


Canada originally committed $2 million to Pakistan after the country suffered its worst monsoon in 80 years. Those funds were earmarked for emergency materials such as health services, water, food and shelter.


Baird said $25 million of the newly announced funding will come from the Canadian International Development Agency to help meet basic human needs, including drinking water and food, in Pakistan, where one-quarter of the country remains under water.


He said $8 million will come from the Department of Foreign Affairs to help repair transportation and communication infrastructure.


Officials have estimated that the floods destroyed as much as 85 per cent of the infrastructure in the northwestern part of the country.


"Recovery from these floods will take time, and Canada will stand behind these efforts," Baird said.


Torrential monsoon downpours continue to hit Pakistan, and the swollen waters of the Indus River and its tributaries are threatening new areas since intense flooding began two weeks ago.


The time since the rains started has been difficult for Canada's Pakistani community, said recently appointed Conservative Senator Salma Ataullahjan, who was born in Pakistan.


"Canadians of Pakistani origin have spent the past few weeks trying to find relatives, many of whom have been displaced," she said, while addressing the audience at a Toronto park. "Our hearts are with the families who have suffered loses."


An estimated 1,600 people are dead and more than 14 million people's lives -- more people than live in Ontario -- have been disrupted, officials say.


"To those among us who have lost loved ones, let me offer the sincere condolences of the Government of Canada," Baird said.


The United Nations has asked the global community for $460 million in aid money for food, shelter and water. Saturday marked 63 years of independence for Pakistan.

 

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Penny losing currency with Canadians, survey says

OTTAWA — A majority of Canadians want to get rid of all those pennies jingling in their pockets, according to a new poll, and if they get their way the country's economy stands to benefit, says currency analyst David Watt.


The poll, conducted by Ipsos Reid for canada.com, tracks the results of an identical survey conducted in 2008 and reveals that 60 per cent of Canadians want to abolish the one-cent piece, a four-point increase over the last two years.


Watt, a vice-president for RBC Capital Markets, says that the Canadian economy could benefit if the government decides to heed the call: production costs for the penny would be saved and, more importantly, it would put more money back into circulation.


Watt explained that many people hoard pennies, keeping them in jars at home or in a box in the basement. If the government decided to give people cash in exchange for their old pennies, that money might be spent or put it in a bank account. Either way, the money is back in the economy, he said.


Canadians shouldn't worry about retailers sneaking in price increases either, Watt says.


"It's a fearmongering argument," he said. "There may be some retailers that round up more often than round down, but I can't see it as a big aggregate issue."


According to the poll, opinions on the penny vary by geography, which is something Sean Simpson, senior research manager at Ipsos Reid and lead author of the poll, cannot explain.


Quebecers (71 per cent), are most likely to want to abolish the penny, followed by Atlantic Canadians (62 per cent), Alberta (59) and British Columbia (58). Fifty-six per cent of Ontarians support the idea, while Canadians living in Manitoba and Saskatchewan are least likely to want to drop the one-cent piece (55 per cent).


"Quebecers are anomalous in a lot of ways," Simpson said. "Sometimes results of surveys are not easily explainable and this is one of those instances."


The poll shows that men (70 per cent), are more likely to dislike the penny compared with women (51 per cent).


Simpson said two reasons can explain this: men usually don't have purses and have to carry cumbersome change in their pockets, and men tend to be more free-spending with their money.


"They don't count their pennies as much," he said.


The poll also shows the younger a respondent, the less likely they wanted to get rid of the penny. Sixty-seven per cent of those age 55 and over wanted the penny gone, versus 52 per cent of people age 18-34.


"People 55 and over were alive when the penny was worth a lot more than it is now, it was a useful piece of currency," Simpson explained. They want to get rid of it more perhaps because they have a greater appreciation how much value the penny has lost, he said.


Another result that left Simpson wondering is why those earning under $30,000 are 62 per cent in favour of abolishing the penny. Two years ago, this cohort was evenly split — which he thought made sense, considering poorer people tend to make every penny count, he said.


The poll of 1,017 adults from Ipsos Reid's Canadian online panel was conducted June 10-14. The poll is said to have a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

 

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TSX gains moderately as economic data disappoints, gold prices rise

The Toronto Stock Exchange finished Monday's session with a small gain as some disappointing international economic data was weighed against rising gold prices.


The S&P/TSX composite index was up 24.51 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 11,552.76. Materials was the strongest sector as gold stocks rose in reaction to a rise in the metal's price.


Investors, however, seemed somewhat discouraged by developments such as the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's general economic index coming in at 7.1 this month, less than the score of eight that was expected by economists.


As well, Japan's economy grew by an annualized rate of just 0.4 per cent in the second quarter, less than the 2.3 per cent that was anticipated. In the last quarter, Japan was surpassed by China as the world's second biggest economy, with the U.S. being the biggest.


Yet, by day's end, the TSX's biggest two sectors, financials and energy, were slightly positive despite being negative most of the day. Bank of Nova Scotia closed up 0.36 per cent to $49.92, while Suncor Energy Inc. gained 0.61 per cent to close at $33.11.


The junior TSX Venture composite was up 0.11 point, or 0.01 per cent, to 1,457.16.


As is often the case, troubling economic news around the world sent investors flocking to gold as a safe haven, boosting its price. In New York, gold was up $9.60 to $1,226.20 U.S. an ounce. Crude oil was down 15 cents to $75.24 U.S. a barrel.


The Canadian dollar was down 29 basis points to 95.73 cents U.S..


"With fears of a banking crisis in Europe subsiding and concerns growing over the health of the U.S. economy, precious metals appear to have returned to their traditional role of generally trading against (the U.S. dollar)," said Colin Cieszynski, market analyst with CMC Markets Canada.


He noted that silver was also "in rally mode," gaining 32 cents to close at $18.43 U.S. an ounce.


Looking at some of the previous-metal-related stocks on the TSX, Barrick Gold Corp. was up 1.81 per cent to $45.59, Goldcorp Inc. gained 2.18 per cent to $42.25 and Silver Wheaton Corp. rose 2.98 per cent to $21.40.


On U.S. stock markets, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 1.14 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 10,302.01. The Nasdaq composite index rose 8.39 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 2,181.87.


There was some strength in U.S. technology stocks as speculation mounted that eBay Inc.'s PayPal system would become part of Google Android software for smartphones. EBay shares were up 2.56 per cent to $22.05 U.S. on the Nasdaq, while Google was down 0.16 per cent to $485.59 U.S..


Overseas markets were mixed with markets essentially flat in the U.K. and Germany, declines in France and Japan, and modest gains in Hong Kong.

 

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Tamil migrants claim they were fleeing mass murders in Sri Lanka

OTTAWA — Tamil migrants who arrived in British Columbia last week say they were fleeing mass murders, disappearances and extortion in Sri Lanka.

The National Post obtained two letters claiming to be from groups of migrants detained at a jail near Vancouver.

About 490 would-be refugees arrived near Victoria on Friday morning aboard a ship that left the Gulf of Thailand in May. The approximately 400 men, 60 women and 30 children are set to begin detention hearings in Vancouver later this week.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said Canadian authorities suspect members of the Tamil Tigers — a rebel separatist group branded a terrorist organization by the Canadian government — were aboard the ship.

But in the two letters, the migrants claim to be escaping persecution in the wake of government-led military operations in northern Sri Lanka, which ended in May 2009.

It was the end of a three-decade long conflict between government forces and the Tamil Tigers.

The United Nations has estimated that the fighting killed at least 7,000 civilians during the final five months of the conflict, and displaced about 280,000 people.

The first letter says that although the conflict in Sri Lanka has ended, “innocent Tamil people detained in prison have not been released. Displaced civilians have not resettled in their own homes. Instead, there is widespread occurrences of disappearances, mass murders and extortion.”

The authors thanked Canadian officials for providing migrants with food and water after their ship was boarded Thursday evening.

“This has assured us with the safety of our lives.”

The second letter claims to have been written by “the people who have arrived in the ship Sun Sea” who say they have undergone “severe hardships with very little access to basic necessities such as food, water, sleeping space, medicine and sanitary facilities.”

“We have come here, to this wonderful country Canada, to protect ourselves and our family members from the murders, disappearances and violence that still exist in our native country,” the letter reads.


Abuse in Sri Lanka has been widely reported by human-rights agencies around the world.

Amnesty International’s 2010 report on Sri Lanka released at the end of May cites cases of arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial executions of people suspected to have links to the Tamil Tigers.

“Enforced disappearances were reported in many parts of the country, particularly in northern and eastern Sri Lanka and in Colombo,” the report says.


Detention hearings were scheduled to begin on Monday but delayed due to legal proceedings.

Officials are expected to check the migrants’ identification and decide on a person-by-person basis whether to keep them in jail or release them.

The hearings are overseen by the Immigration and Refugee Board, which will sort through documentation, identity issues and national security concerns before making any decisions.

The migrants are expected to make refugee claims. Canada has a high acceptance rate when it comes to refugee claimants from Sri Lanka. Since January, 85 per cent of claimants from that country have been accepted.

Canadian Tamil Congress lawyer Gary Anandasangaree said the politics surrounding the ship are overshadowing the stories and desperation of those who were aboard.

“There are 490 stories here, and we’re not hearing them out,” he said. “Let’s not paint everybody as a human-smuggler or a terrorist. There’s a five-year-old here. There are two unborn children.”

David Poopalapillai, a Vancouver spokesman for the Tamil Congress, said the congress also will have counsellors and psychologists available for those needing emotional support.

“Although they have been declared physically healthy by government doctors, we believe their mental health is not that great,” he said.

“These people have gone through a lot in their lives. They just went through a gruelling journey and now they’re being detained. All these factors might have affected their mental health, especially the kids and women.”


Earlier Monday, Toews said in Winnipeg that the Sun Sea had been refitted expressly for transporting asylum seekers with a clear eye toward enriching its owners.

It clearly wasn’t a last-ditch, "last-minute" attempt to escape Sri Lanka organized by innocents, Toews said.

"It’s clear the migrants were brought over here on a ship specially outfitted to bring them here," he said. "The boat itself was well-equipped to maximize profits."

On the weekend, Toews said that each passenger paid $40,000 to $50,000. At that rate, the ship owners may have pocketed more than $20 million.

Toews said the Sun Sea is a "test boat" that’s part of an organized "criminal" enterprise. "Other boats may be waiting to see what the Government of Canada’s reaction is to it," Toews said.

But an expert on immigration, refugee and human rights law said Toews’ comments are just speculation.

“We don’t need to rely on speculative comments by (Toews),” Queen’s University law professor Sharryn Aiken said Monday. “Instead we should be looking at the objective documentation out there.”

She said the security situation in Sri Lanka has improved since the end of the conflict but serious problems remain.

“I am not by any means suggesting that every Tamil in Sri Lanka is at risk. I want to be very clear about that,” said Aiken. “But I am saying that Sri Lanka is a country with a serious human-rights problem . . . The end of a war doesn’t lead to an automatic end of problems.”


Aiken said reports by reputed human-rights organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Crisis Group all note ongoing problems in Sri Lanka “and the failure of the government to take the necessary steps to achieve genuine reconciliation.”

She added the reports note the security situation is particularly dangerous for women, children and anyone with suspect links to the Tamil Tigers, no matter how tenuous.

 

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10-year-old whiz kid too young for high school, says Ontario system

WINDSOR, Ont. — An academically gifted 10-year-old from Ontario will have to repeat some grade levels — because he's too young for high school.


Windsor resident Bachar Sbeiti said he's growing depressed that the public school board won't let him enrol in Grade 9 this fall despite his completion of the Grade 8 curriculum through private school.


"It makes me feel bad," said the boy. "The city, I believe, should encourage people to go higher and be smarter."


But Sharon Pyke, a superintendent of education with the Greater Essex County District School Board, said a child of Bachar's age belongs in Grade 5 — at the most, Grade 6.


"Our belief is that we do not accelerate students," Pyke said. "We recognize that students work really well with their peers, and want to be with their peers.


"He's coming from a different system. He would be placed in his age-appropriate grade."


Bachar can't help sounding indignant about the school board's position.


"I finished Grade 6," he said. "I don't understand the point of doing it again. And I finished Grade 8, too. I just want to go to high school.


"I don't really mind being with people older than me. I want to actually challenge myself."


Recognized as gifted since he was a toddler, Bachar's schooling has been atypical. At the age of three, he could speak three languages, had memorized the capitals and flags of 40 countries, and could recite the 99 Islamic names for God.


He was first enrolled in the Roeper school for gifted children in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. His mother, Hala Sbeiti, said the U.S. location proved inconvenient and they moved back to Windsor.


Most of Bachar's education thus far has been a private school that covers the intermediate grades of the Ontario curriculum.


His mother said she's looked into other private facilities that cover the high school grades but they "have no programs for him."


As a single parent on social assistance, she has depended on the support of the Arab community to pay for Bachar's private schooling. The Lebanese-born mother said she's trying to make sure her only child gets the best education possible, but now she said, she feels stuck.


Asked if she'd consider leaving Windsor so that Bachar can attend other schools, Hala said her son would never accept it.


"He loves Windsor. He refuses to move anywhere. It's his community. It's his life here."


Meanwhile, Pyke said the school board's position is backed by research. She pointed out that in high school, students are also learning from "common experiences" such as obtaining their driving licences. "That would not happen with a 10-year-old."


But Bachar — who counts math as his favourite subject — said he's ready for the high school environment.


"I really don't mind. Most of friends now are teenagers."


Asked if he's sure he wants to try Grade 9 mathematics — which includes algebra expressions with exponents, analytic geometry and the study of "linear relations" — Bachar said he's "very sure."


"I'd get really bored doing Grade 6 again."