Canada
column for Sunday, Sept. 6/15
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By
Jim Fox
The image of a drowned three-year-old boy on a Turkish beach derailed
the Canadian election campaign as attempts failed to bring his Syrian refugee family
to Canada.
The
boy was the nephew of Tima Kurdi of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia who was
trying to sponsor the family.
Alan
Kurdi, drowned along with his five-year-old brother and mother in an
unsuccessful attempt to reach Europe on a smuggler’s boat, while the father,
Abdullah, survived.
Tima wanted to bring another brother, Mohammed, to Canada first and then
Abdullah and his family.
The
government said it did not receive a refugee application for Abdullah but did get
an incomplete one for Mohammed that didn’t meet the requirements for proof of
refugee status.
Member of Parliament Fin Donnelly said he delivered a letter in March to
Immigration Minister Chris Alexander about the family’s reunification bid.
The news led to Alexander being pulled off the election campaign to
return to Ottawa to address the crisis.
Stephen
Harper, seeking re-election as prime minister, tearfully expressed his feelings
while underscoring the need to continue the military fight against the Islamic
militants in Syria and Iraq.
---
Canada’s economy gained 12,000 jobs last month, but with more people
looking for work, the jobless rate rose.
Statistics Canada said the unemployment rate climbed to 7.0 percent, up
0.2 from July where it had been for six consecutive months.
Nationally,
the number of full-time jobs grew by 54,400 while there was a drop of 42,400
part-time jobs.
The increase in jobs along with stronger trade numbers suggested the economy
is improving after slipping into a “technical recession” in the first half of
the year.
As
the economy grew in June, analysts said the recessionary dip was short-lived
and that the second half of the year would show growth.
---
News
in brief:
-
Adult children living at home are depleting their parents’ retirement savings
plans and dreams, says a survey by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. It
found such parents were spending up to up to $500 a month to support children who
would usually be on their own by then. The survey said two-thirds of 1,054
respondents said their resources are being depleted by children aged 18 or
older while 20 percent said it was causing them to delay retirement.
-
There are more layoffs in Canada’s “oilpatch” as two Alberta companies are
laying off 900 workers, mostly in Calgary. The cutbacks are at ConocoPhillips
Canada, with 500 jobs lost, and 400 workers leaving Penn West Petroleum. The
oil price crisis has resulted in 35,000 jobs being lost this year.
---
Facts and figures:
The
Canadian dollar is lower at 75.54 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.3237
in Canadian funds, before bank exchange fees.
The
Bank of Canada’s key interest rate is 0.50 percent while the prime-lending rate
is 2.7 percent.
Markets
are mixed with the Toronto Stock Exchange index down at 13,433 points and the TSX
Venture index up at 554 points.
The
average price of gas is higher at a national average of $1.079 a liter or $4.10
(Canadian) for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto 6/49: (Sept. 2) 14, 16, 23, 28, 46 and 48; bonus 10. (Aug. 29) 13,
30, 36, 40, 42 and 46; bonus 22. Lotto Max: (Aug. 28) 2, 4, 5, 17, 29, 39 and
41; bonus 48.
---
Regional briefs:
-
Mayor John Tory and a group of friends have pledged to sponsor a Syrian refugee
family to settle in Toronto. A group known as Lifeline Syria wants to bring
1,000 refugees to the city under a plan to offer financial support for the
first year and is seeking matching government support. The Ontario government
has pledged $300,000 and wants the federal government to approve the
resettlement of 5,000 refugees.
-
While Toronto and central Canada have temperatures in the high 80s this
weekend, a pro cycling race is contending with snow in Alberta. There was some
snow on the ground for Stage 3 of the Tour of Alberta race from Grande Cache to
Jasper. Northwestern Alberta communities had heavy rain mixed with wet snow while
Marmot Basin ski resort reported snow on upper peaks.
-30-
Jim
Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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