Canada
column for Sunday, Sept. 23/12
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THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By
Jim Fox
Tough measures by the Ontario government to deal with a soaring budget
deficit have led to a revolt by many school teachers whose pay has been frozen.
Now, the Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty plans to take similar
action for the highest-paid public service workers.
"These measures are necessary to help us meet our fiscal targets
and we're asking everyone to do their share," Finance Minister Dwight
Duncan said.
The enactment of the “Putting Students First” bill, which is being
challenged in court by teachers’ unions, has frozen their pay for two years, halved
their paid sick days to 10 a year and banned strikes and lockouts.
In
response, the unions called on their 136,000 members to refuse to take part in
any extracurricular activities, including the coaching of sports.
The top salary of a fully experienced Ontario teacher is about $95,000 a
year for 195 in-class days.
The government said the pay cap is needed to maintain full-day
kindergarten and smaller class sizes, and trim the $15-billion deficit.
A
proposed bill to limit wages of public workers would also include those
employed by government-funded agencies, boards, commissions, hospitals,
universities and colleges.
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In
the past year, two gas-station attendants have been run down and killed by
“gas-and-dash” thieves in Toronto and that could prompt changes to prevent
thefts.
The latest incident was last weekend when Jayesh Prajapati was struck
and killed by a man driving away after filling up with $112 in gas.
Liberal
politician Mike Colle wants the Ontario government to enact what he is calling
“Jayesh's Law" requiring prepayment or credit cards to be used before
pumping gas.
As
well, station owners would no longer be able to force attendants to pay for
stolen gas and the licenses of convicted gas thieves would be suspended.
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News
in brief:
-
Bargaining for a new deal for members of the Canadian Auto Workers has come
down to Chrysler after tentative pacts were reached with Ford and GM Canada.
The contracts will have new employees paid at a lower rate and receive a
revised pension plan. The workers will each receive a$2,000 annual cost of living
payment and $3,000 ratification bonus.
- A
bid to preserve the now-defunct registry of rifles and shotguns has been
rejected by the Ontario Superior Court. The federal Conservative government
ordered the end of the long-gun registry established by a former Liberal
government. Judge D.M. Brown said destruction of the records would not violate
the Charter of Rights. The ruling counters a recent court decision in Quebec upholding
the right of the provincial government to preserve its gun data.
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Facts and figures:
Pressure on the Bank of Canada to begin raising interest rates has eased
as the national inflation rate dropped one-tenth of a point to 1.2 percent last
month.
The dollar is lower at 1.0239 in U.S. funds while the U.S. greenback returns
97.65 cents Canadian before bank exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate is unchanged at 1 percent while
the prime-lending rate is 3 percent.
Stock
markets are mixed, with the Toronto exchange index lower at 12,445 points and the
TSX Venture index higher at 1,346 points.
Lotto 6-49: (Sept. 19) 7, 9, 18, 22, 28 and 38; bonus 26. (Sept. 15) 9,
10, 12, 19, 24 and 31; bonus 17. Lotto Max: (Sept. 14) 2, 27, 30, 31, 37, 46
and 47; bonus 21.
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Regional briefs:
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The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld the right of a British Columbia women’s group
to continue its challenge of the country's anti-prostitution laws on
constitutional grounds. The Downtown Eastside Sex Workers Against Violence launched
a challenge of the law’s prohibitions five years ago.
- The
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. still wants to build a world-class casino on Toronto’s
Lake Ontario waterfront or downtown although city councilors are divided over
the proposal. Corporation chairman Paul Godfrey said this would be the largest
development project in Canada at $2 billion and create 12,000 jobs. There is
currently Woodbine, a slots and racetrack facility in north Toronto and
numerous smaller casinos nearby.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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