Canadian economy: Caution ahead

Canada’s economy has given off mixed signals in the first three months of the year, prompting economists to raise a flag of caution for the coming months.

For instance, despite strong auto sales and a blockbuster labour market report from Statistics Canada on Thursday, wholesale trade has dipped, and housing starts were flat across Canada in February.

There are also worries about consumer spending and sky-high household debt levels – reiterated by Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.

Other reasons for caution include the still-simmering sovereign debt crisis in Europe and continuing worries over the U.S. recovery, the latter brought into focus on Friday by a disappointing jobs report.

It will take months before Statistics Canada releases its official report on the country’s gross domestic product for the first quarter.

But so far, the signs suggest the Canadian economy is at a crossroads, said Jennifer Lee, senior economist at the Bank of Montreal.

Man Denied Canadian Citizenship Over Oath Mix-Up

A government official wrongly denied an immigrant his Canadian citizenship because he wrongly believed the man was mouthing the oath of citizenship rather than repeating it out loud, Citizenship and Immigration Canada says.

The mix-up took place at a March 29 ceremony, CIC said in a letter to the CBC's Evan Dyer.

"A citizenship officer at the ceremony determined that the candidate was not articulating the words of the Oath of Citizenship," said CIC spokeswoman Mary Jago.

"Subsequently, it was found that the officer made a mistake in the determination that the oath was not taken. The office has been attempting to contact the candidate to rectify the situation."

The man, whom CBC has not identified, was pulled out of line in front of his family while awaiting his citizenship certificate and was told he would not receive it.

Strict supervision of oath

CIC said the officer made a mistake and the man was not trying to avoid or alter the oath. They are looking for the man but have yet to find him.

The mistake comes after stricter supervision began around swearing loyalty to Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors.

Since December 2011, CIC has been watching to make sure all new Canadians recite the oath verbatim, which includes asking women to remove their veils.

Polls show a majority of Canadians would like to see the oath changed so new Canadians swear loyalty to Canada rather than Queen Elizabeth. Statistics show only five per cent want the oath to remain the same.

Original Article
Source: Huff
Author: cbc

Don't Tell Me to Calm Down Over Trayvon's Death

"Brute fact is though, Mr. Jones, about 150 black men are killed every week and 94 per cent by other black men."

These words were spoken by George F. Will, a Washington Post columnist and political commentator, on the April 1 episode of ABC's This Week, hosted by George Stephanopoulos. It was during the show's weekly political roundtable discussion. His statement was in reference to the tragic shooting of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed 17-year-old black boy shot by the so-called neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman because he feared for his life. The other guests at the roundtable included Ann Coulter, Matt Bai, Terry Moran, and Van Jones, to whom Mr. Will's comments were directed.

Variations of these comments have been spewed out by so-called far right media members and bloggers since this incident hit the news. To me, they seemed far beneath Mr. Will. He's a man with whom I don't always agree, but I consider him a person who puts thought into what he says before he says it. For that reason, I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt. I wouldn't want to think he believes the same as Fox News' Gregg Jarrett when he questioned why black leaders focus on something that is statistically rare, largely ignoring that which is quite common in America, which is black on black crime.

Attawapiskat To Keep Court Date With Federal Government Even After Plan To Withdraw Third-Party Manager

ATTAWAPISKAT, Ont. - The Attawapiskat First Nation says it won't drop legal action against the federal government over the appointment of a third-party manager to handle the band's finances.

That's despite the fact the government announced on Thursday that Jacques Marion is being withdrawn by April 19.

The government indicated Thursday it's satisfied with progress in the management of the reserve.

The band issued a news release Friday saying it welcomes the news, but still intends to proceed with legal action launched last year to try to block Marion's appointment.

The band's news release says it wants the courts to "refute" Prime Minister Stephen Harper's suggestion that the band mismanaged federal funds in the face of a housing crisis.

The community of 2,000 declared a state of emergency last October after a severe housing shortage forced more than two dozen families to live in temporary shelters, some without insulation or plumbing.

The band also wants the federal court to declare that Marion's appointment was unlawful _ a hearing is set for April 24.

NDP in dead heat with Conservatives

It has been a Liberal-Conservative tug-of-war in federal politics since Confederation, but a new poll confirms a shift to a new political split: Conservative-New Democratic Party.

The NDP is now tied with its ideological rival, the Conservative Party, for voter support across Canada even though Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his troops won a majority government in last year's federal election, the survey conducted for The Gazette and Le Devoir by Léger Marketing reveals.

If an election were held today, the NDP would nab 26 per cent of the vote, compared with 25 per cent for the Conservative Party, the poll of 1,506 Canadian adults shows. That puts the two parties in a statistical tie, the polling firm says.

"It's a very polarized choice," Sébastien Dallaire, research director in public affairs for Léger Marketing, said, adding it's the first time the firm has polled the Conservatives and NDP in a dead heat. The tie confirms a trend in other recent polls by other firms, he added.

"It's not choosing between two different shades of grey, but you definitely have two different colours in front of you." The NDP comes out with 33 per cent of voter intention and the Conservatives with 32 per cent when the percentage of undecided, unwilling to vote and unwilling to answer are distributed among all the parties, the poll finds.

This is Mulcair’s moment

Those vastly premature and gluttonously unnecessary TV ads the always aggressive Tories have run against Bob Rae were wrong in so many different ways that they deserve some kind of inverted prize. They are petty and mean, and they hit out against a dubious target. It is not the Liberals and their temporary king, Mr. Rae, who threaten Mr. Harper and his increasingly sloppy team. It’s the NDP, with their new and encouragingly battle-ready leader, Thomas Mulcair.

The anti-Rae TV barrage did nothing but remind voters that the Harper Conservatives are always on the edge of being angry about something, hardly ever cheerful and never at ease, even now when they have a majority.

The Harperites should be enjoying political nirvana at present. They are kings of the Hill and have decimated their life-long enemies, the Liberals. You’d never guess, looking at the grim faces and drooping heads of the Cabinet this week as they hopelessly tried to unsnarl the F-35 mess.

Mr. Rae, however, has no confusion. He knows that Canadian politics is different now. And he knows it’s the NDP, and particularly its leader, that are the new and challenging factor. The holiday that the NDP race gave the Liberals is over. The Liberals and their (it is to be presumed) interim leader will have to struggle for every morsel of publicity and airtime they can get.

Cutting youth volunteer program a short-sighted move

Picture this: A national volunteer program - kind of a Canadian Peace Corps - that benefits young Canadians, communities and, arguably, the country as a whole. You could call it the Governor General's Youth Corps, say, or even the Royal Canadian Volunteer Corps. It's hard to imagine a federal politician who wouldn't eat up the idea.

Just don't call it Katimavik. The $15-million-a-year youth volunteer program, which was axed in last week's federal budget, was the right program, at the right time, with the wrong political lineage, at least for the Conservative government. Created under Pierre Trudeau in 1977. Reinstated after being cut under the Mulroney government when its founder Liberal Senator Jacques Hébert went on a 21day hunger strike to save it. Even Justin Trudeau has had a hand in Katimavik, as a board member.

It must have been one Trudeau too many for Prime Minister Stephen Harper. That is the only plausible explanation for why, at a time when youth unemployment in Canada is at 14 per cent, a program that does so much good at so relatively little cost and is, coincidentally, so apparently aligned with Conservative values of volunteerism and youth engagement, had to go.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty offered a succinct explanation in the budget, saying Katimavik concentrated funding "on a very small number of participants at an excessive per-person cost." (Katimavik sends 1,100 Canadians between 17 and 21 to various parts of Canada each year to volunteer with community organizations.) The government, said Flaherty, will continue to invest in "affordable, effective programming that engages youth -"

Thomas Mulcair tells business community NDP cares about developing economy

OTTAWA—Thomas Mulcair wants the business community to know that New Democrats care about developing the economy, so long as it is done in a way that does not place the burden on future generations.

“Governing is about choices. Politics is about priorities,” the newly elected NDP leader said in a speech before the Economic Club of Canada in Ottawa on Thursday before telling the room that they might be surprised his take on the federal budget would be largely economic.

“You see, the NDP is resolutely in favour of development, as long as it’s sustainable development. The NDP is resolutely in favour of trade, as long as it’s fair trade,” Mulcair said in the lunchtime speech delivered in a ballroom at the Chateau Laurier.

“And the NDP is going to do everything it can to create a Canada that is more prosperous, as long as it is more prosperous for everybody.”

Building on a message that he championed throughout his successful leadership campaign, Mulcair later told reporters that he wants the NDP to attract voters from other parties and will do so by convincing the general public they can be good fiscal managers.

F-35 affair reveals lack of fiscal competence, accountability, transparency

The auditor general’s damning report over the F-35 fighter-jet program is not – as some cynical observers are suggesting – another “inside Ottawa” story. It goes to the heart of what is fundamentally wrong with the Harper government and the way it has been operating since coming to office.

There are various troubling elements coming out of this story. Let’s go over them briefly one by one.

The first is fiscal competence. The fact that this prime minister and his government think it’s a good idea to pour $25B of taxpayers’ money into war planes in the current context of austerity – even if it would be paid out over several years – shows how disconnected they are from Canadians.

What is at play here is not some obscure governmental program nobody knows about. Next to the recently announced national shipbuilding strategy, it represents the biggest procurement ever contemplated by the Government of Canada. And what will these particular planes do that others can’t?

As we look at this, we should also remind ourselves of the enormous costs this government has committed us to with their recent omnibus crime bill – which will come with a huge price tag for the provinces – with actually no evidence it will have any effect on crime reduction. So much for financial probity.

NBC Fires Producer of Misleading Zimmerman Tape

NBC News has fired a producer who was involved in the production of a misleading segment about the Trayvon Martin case in Florida.

The person was fired on Thursday, according to two people with direct knowledge of the disciplinary action who declined to be identified discussing internal company matters. They also declined to name the fired producer. A spokeswoman for NBC News declined to comment.

The action came in the wake of an internal investigation by NBC News into the production of the segment, which strung together audio clips in such a way that made George Zimmerman’s shooting of Mr. Martin sound racially motivated. Ever since the Feb. 26 shooting, there has been a continuing debate about whether race was a factor in the incident.

The segment in question was shown on the “Today” show on March 27. It included audio of Mr. Zimmerman saying, “This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He looks black.”

But Mr. Zimmerman’s comments had been taken grossly out of context by NBC. On the phone with a 911 dispatcher, he actually said of Mr. Martin, “This guy looks like he’s up to no good. Or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around, looking about.” Then the dispatcher asked, “O.K., and this guy — is he white, black or Hispanic?” Only then did Mr. Zimmerman say, “He looks black.”