Pricey EI rate cut will yield only 800 jobs: PBO report

It was touted as a job-creator in a tough job market, but new evidence suggests the Conservative plan to cut Employment Insurance premiums for small business won't achieve its stated goal of making it easier for employers to hire new workers.

And the head of a key lobby group acknowledges the decision by the government may be linked to other political considerations.

In a new report, the parliamentary budget officer, Jean-Denis Fréchette, says the small business job credit announced last month by Finance Minister Joe Oliver would generate only 800 new jobs over two years — 200 new full-time equivalent jobs in 2015 and 600 new jobs in 2016.

Clashes In Kashmir Between India And Pakistan Are The Worst In Years

DHAMALA HAKIMWALA, Pakistan (AP) — Iram Shazadi was making breakfast for her family when bullets started whizzing through her dusty Pakistani village just a half-kilometer (quarter-mile) from the Indian-controlled area of disputed Kashmir.

Then a mortar shell fired by Indian forces slammed into her home, killing her two young sons and her husband's mother in the worst spasm of violence in the tense Himalayan region in years. So far, 19 people — 11 on the Pakistani side, eight on the Indian — have died over the past week. Dozens have been injured, and tens of thousands have fled their homes.

Susan G. Komen Foundation Called Out For 'Most Ludicrous Piece Of Pink Sh*t'

“Doing our bit for the cure.”

It’s an eyebrow-raising slogan drawing new attention to a two-year-old partnership between the Susan G. Koman Foundation and one of the world’s largest oilfield firms, Baker Hughes.

For the second October in a row, the Houston-based company announced it would paint 1,000 of its gold drill bits pink to “serve as a reminder of the importance of supporting research, treatment, screening, and education to help find cures for this disease.”

SNC-Lavalin Walks Back CEO's Comments: 'Intention Was Never To Blackmail'

MONTREAL - SNC-Lavalin says its CEO wasn't attempting to intimidate authorities by suggesting that the engineering giant could be forced to close or sell its operations if it faced criminal charges.

"It is clear that the intention was never to blackmail," said Eric Ryan, vice-president marketing of strategy and external relations in an interview Wednesday.

Governments Should Stop Playing Railway Russian Roulette

Another major disaster happened Oct. 7 involving oil by rail transportation and there was a major derailment of oil train in Saskatchewan. Evacuation of nearby residents but no deaths reported.

That mishap occurred two days after I outlined the dangers inherent as a result of government inaction and massive deployment of trains to transport oil across the U.S. and Canada in the New York Post. Here's that piece:

On July 5, 2013, just before midnight, the sole engineer of a US train carrying 73 carloads of North Dakota crude oil parked miles outside a small town in Quebec on a gentle slope. Less than an hour later the unattended train began to roll downhill and eventually reached a speed of 60 miles per hour before derailing, exploding and destroying the town of Lac-Megantic and killing 47 people.

Toronto Condo Boom 'Looks Like' It's Over: BMO

"It certainly looks” like Toronto’s impressive condo boom has run its course, the Bank of Montreal says in a client note.

Housing starts in Toronto dropped to their lowest point in four-and-a-half years in September, according to new numbers from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC).

“Slower sales witnessed during mid 2012 to mid 2013 have translated to fewer starts," CMHC analyst Dana Senagama said.

For 375,000 Ontarians, Thanksgiving Dinner Isn't a Reality

There is a chill in the air, days are shorter, and leaves are turning beautiful colours of burnt orange, bright red and deep purple. It must be fall, bringing with it Thanksgiving. Tables filled with succulent ham, roast turkeys, fluffy mashed potatoes and delicious pumpkin pie.

This October, however, more than 16,000 families in Ontario will have no other choice but to visit a food bank for the first time in their entire lives. And while the idea of turkey dinner with all the trimmings certainly sounds delicious, for over 375,000 adults and children, it is simply not the reality of the season.

The budget we want … and the budget we’re going to get

Last week, Germany completed its plan to provide free university tuition to all its students. It’s an idea that no doubt would excite the hopes and dreams of young people in Canada — which explains the need to snuff it out before it catches on.

Certainly, it’s the kind of big idea that powerful interests here are keen to keep off the radar as Ottawa finds itself flush with surplus cash — $6 billion next year, with bigger surpluses expected in future years.

Palestinian Unity Cabinet To Meet In Gaza For First Time

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The new Palestinian unity government toured Gaza and held a Cabinet meeting there for the first time Thursday, aiming to assure donor countries that absolute Hamas control has ended and that it can lead the rebuilding of the war-battered territory.

The visit by the ministers came three days before an international pledging conference for Gaza, to be held in Cairo.

In establishing a foothold in Gaza, the new Cabinet, which reports to Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas, was trying to signal that the Palestinians' paralyzing political split has come to an end. Hamas had seized Gaza from Abbas in 2007, leaving him with only parts of the West Bank.

YPG: The Kurdish militia battling ISIS jihadists

BEIRUT: The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) defending the Syrian border town of Ain al-Arab, known by Kurds as Kobani, from ISIS jihadists is the de facto army of Syria’s Kurdish region. Here are some details about the force:

What is the YPG?YPG (Yekineyen Parastina Gel in Kurdish, or People’s Protection Units in English) is a militia operating in majority-Kurdish areas in the north and northeast of Syria. The group is the long-standing armed branch of Syria’s powerful Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD).