Dec 08

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HEIGHT= 32963 ><NOBR><div>  <A NAME="top"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><IMG SRC="5e4a5c200.png" border=0 width="92" height="32" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">  <B>Past Articles:</B></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="1" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="626" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#FFCC80" BORDERCOLORDARK="#CC9900" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="50"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="50" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="50" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="50" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1161.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sep 10"><U><B>Sep/10</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD 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TITLE="Nov 08"><U><B>Nov/08</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><div> <A HREF="id1086.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Oct 08"><U><B>Oct/08</B></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1084.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sep 08"><U><B>Sep/08</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1083.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Aug 08"><U><B>Aug/08</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><div> <A HREF="id1078.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jul 08"><U><B>Jul/08</B></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1077.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jun 08"><U><B>Jun/08</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1072.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May 08"><U><B>May/08</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><div> <A HREF="id1071.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Apr 08"><U><B>Apr/08</B></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1060.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mar 08"><U><B>Mar/08</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1044.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Feb 08"><U><B>Feb/08</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1043.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jan 08"><U><B>Jan/08</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1038.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dec 07"><U><B>Dec/07</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1037.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nov 07"><U><B>Nov/07</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><div> <A HREF="id1032.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Oct 07"><U><B>Oct/07</B></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1026.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sep 07"><U><B>Sep/07</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1025.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Aug 07"><U><B>Aug/07</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><div> <A HREF="id1020.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jul 07"><U><B>Jul/07</B></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1015.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jun 07"><U><B>Jun/07</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1009.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May 07"><U><B>May/07</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><div> <A HREF="id1007.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Apr 07"><U><B>Apr/07</B></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id986.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mar 07"><U><B>Mar/07</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id979.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Feb 07"><U><B>Feb/07</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> 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<A HREF="id892.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nov 05"><U><B>Nov/05</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><div> <A HREF="id885.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Oct 05"><U><B>Oct/05</B></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id880.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sep 05"><U><B>Sep/05</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id875.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Aug 05"><U><B>Aug/05</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><div> <A HREF="id808.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jul 05"><U><B>Jul/05</B></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id803.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jun 05"><U><B>Jun/05</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id798.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May 05"><U><B>May/05</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><div> <A HREF="id793.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Apr 05"><U><B>Apr/05</B></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id771.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mar 05"><U><B>Mar/05</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id766.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Feb 05"><U><B>Feb/05</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id760.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jan 05"><U><B>Jan/05</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <B>These "Articles" are dated from December 1st, 2008 - December 31st, 2008.</B></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="381" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#31" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Avalanche survivor describes 'gut-wrenching' decision</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 31/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#30" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Body of last missing snowmobiler recovered</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 30/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#29" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Almost 150,000 customers still without power in Ont.</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 29/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#28" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Gusty winds causing havoc in parts of Ontario</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 28/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#27" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Economists grim in their forecasts for 2009</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 27/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#26" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Bargain hunters take advantage of Boxing Day deals</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 26/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#25" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  'Santa' killer in L.A. shot girl, 8, in the face</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 25/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#24" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Air Canada cancels more flights due to bad weather</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 24/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#23" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Report slams coalition forces for Afghanistan raids</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 23/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#22" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Think the economy was bad in 2008? Wait until 2009</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 22/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#21" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Snow, extreme cold mark first day of winter</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 21/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#20" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Second storm on the way for southwestern Ontario</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 20/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#19" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Gas prices slow inflation rate to two per cent</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 19/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#18" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Oil prices hover near 4.5-year low despite OPEC cut</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 18/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#17" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Safety officials probe collapse of gondola tower</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 17/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#16" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Canadian diplomat kidnapped by rebel group: report</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 16/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#15" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  No injuries as Air Canada plane slides off runway</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 15/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#14" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Bodies of three slain soldiers on their way home</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 14/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#13" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Three soldiers killed, one injured in Afghanistan</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 13/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#12" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Markets en route to big losses after bailout failure</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 12/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#11" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Ignatieff plans to sit down and 'listen' to Harper</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 11/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#10" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Ignatieff to be crowned as Liberal interim leader</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 10/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#09" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Palin urges Obama to seek closer ties with Canada</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 09/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#08" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  World markets surge on global stimulus hopes</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 08/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#07" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Man convicted of murder in Jane Creba shooting</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 07/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#06" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Dion says Harper 'wasted time on partisan games'</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 06/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#05" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Huge job losses in Ont. push up unemployment rate</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 05/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#04" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Don't let Harper 'duck a confidence vote:' former GG</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 04/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#02" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  GG arriving home; Tories unleash new attack ads</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 03/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="331"><div> <A HREF="#02" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  TSX index adds to Monday's loss</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 02/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#01" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Coalition would be guided by all-star economic council</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 01/12/08</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> =======================</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="705" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="707"><div>  <A NAME="31"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 399 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Avalanche survivor describes 'gut-wrenching' decision</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. Dec. 31 2008  13:38  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 31st, 2008</div> <div> <B>Avalanche survivor Jeff Adams fought back tears as he explained the "gut-wrenching" decision to leave behind eight friends buried alive under a blanket of snow in B.C. backcountry last Sunday.</B></div> <bR> <div> Adams, 29, was one of three men to survive a series of weekend avalanches in a backcountry area between Fernie and Sparwood, B.C.</div> <bR> <div> His friends survived an initial avalanche and were working to free a trapped snowmobile. That's when the group of snowmobilers was overcome by a second, which "buried all 11 of us," Adams said.</div> <bR> <div> "I managed to float almost to the surface. When I opened my eyes I could see daylight," he said, describing his escape from the second avalanche.</div> <bR> <div> "I was digging. I managed to get my mouth free. I was already choking. I took a few breaths."</div> <bR> <div> Adams managed to get himself out, and yelled.</div> <bR> <div> He then found his friend Jeremy and spent about 15 minutes digging him out.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d975a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Jeff Adams, avalanche survivor, speaks during a press conference in Sparwood, B.C., Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="d976a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Jeff Adams becomes emotional while speaking about his friends that lost their lives in the avalanche, during a press conference in Sparwood, B.C., Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 460 WIDTH="707"><div> The two survivors found another one of their friends named James, but had to hold off on their rescue efforts when more snow fell.</div> <bR> <div> "As we were running away from James, he was saying: 'Don't leave me here. Don't leave me here,'" Adams said.</div> <bR> <div> "We kept saying: 'We're sorry.'"</div> <bR> <div> The two survivors were able to get James out.</div> <bR> <div> They could detect a signal from another friend but decided it "was too deep with no equipment to help him."</div> <bR> <div> When they realized it was unsafe to stay where they were, Adams said the surviving men then made "the gut-wrenching decision to leave our eight friends and start walking off the mountain."</div> <bR> <div> While they were walking away, "the whole centre of the mountain" came down "burying everything again," he said.</div> <bR> <div> The three men were eventually rescued by helicopter.</div> <bR> <div> Since returning home, Adams said he has been surrounded by his family and friends.</div> <bR> <div> "Just me and all my friends, family. Sticking together. Day by day," he said.</div> <bR> <div> Adams had tried to talk to the media on Tuesday, but found himself unable to do so.</div> <bR> <div> <B>The tragic search</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 559 WIDTH="707"><div> The body of the final victim of the deadly snow slides was found Tuesday with the help of one of three survivors, who managed to visit the scene and assist search technicians.</div> <bR> <div> Three of the 11 men who were snowmobiling that day survived.</div> <bR> <div> On Tuesday night, hundreds of residents of Sparwood, B.C. attended two memorial services for the men who were killed on Sunday.</div> <bR> <div> "This community is still very much in the throes of grief," CTV's Rob Brown told Canada AM on Wednesday from Sparwood.</div> <bR> <div> "The service I took in was packed at St. Michael's church in Sparwood, standing room only. The other service I understand was much the same and now a funeral is being planned, a public funeral, for as early as Sunday at the local rink so that as many as thousands of people might attend."</div> <bR> <div> At the ceremony at St. Michael's, candles were lit in memory of each victim, and placed in the snow outside the building. Father Harry Clarke called the event "a dark night of the soul."</div> <bR> <div> <B>Victim remembered</B></div> <bR> <div> Brett Ray, the employer of Warren Rothel who was killed in the avalanche, told Canada AM the community is trying to move forward.</div> <bR> <div> "Sparwood is pulling together pretty nicely but it's quite a tragedy and it's pretty hard to deal with it," Ray said.</div> <bR> <div> He said Rothel worked for him as a welder, and was hard-working, fun-loving and dependable.</div> <bR> <div> "Warren was my employee. He was one of my lead hands or foremen at times. He was energetic, ambitious, always busy doing something and he was a good man you could count on."</div> <bR> <div> On Tuesday, Adams made his way to the slope and helped rescuers find the body of 28-year-old Daniel Bjarnason, who was the last to be found.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 290 WIDTH="707"><div> With his help, Bjarnason's remains were found within an hour or two in an area that had not yet been searched, said Brown.</div> <bR> <div> The victims, all from the small coal-mining town of Sparwood, have been identified as: Bjarnason, 28, Leonard Stier, 40 and his son Michael Stier, 20, Warren Rothel, 33, Thomas Talarico, 32, Kane Rusnak, 30, Kurt Kabel, 28, and Blaine Wilson, 26.</div> <bR> <div> Officials say the eight men were well-trained when they drove their snowmobiles into the rugged territory about 300 kilometres southwest of Calgary, between the resort town of Fernie and Sparwood.</div> <bR> <div> Randy Roberts, Bjarnason's father-in-law, told reporters Tuesday that the snowmobilers were all "best of friends" who were "just like a big group of kids that want to play."</div> <bR> <div> He said all of the men had the proper equipment with them -- including shovels, probes and transmitters.</div> <bR> <div> "You can never predict it," Roberts said, wiping away tears.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="30"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 449 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Body of last missing snowmobiler recovered</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Dec. 30 2008  14:32  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 30th, 2008</div> <div> <B>The body of the eighth and final missing snowmobiler has been located after a pair of weekend avalanches in B.C.</B></div> <bR> <div> CTV's Rob Brown told CTV Newsnet that the presumed body of 28-year-old Danny Bjarnason had been retrieved and will be transported to a hospital in Fernie, B.C., where his family will attend to confirm his identity.</div> <bR> <div> Search-and-rescue personnel recovered Bjarnason's body using probes, with some help from one of the survivors, Jeff Adams, who helped them pinpoint the site.</div> <bR> <div> Bjarnason, along with seven other men, died following their trek by snowmobile into a rugged territory about 300 kilometres southwest of Calgary, between the resort town of Fernie and Sparwood, B.C.</div> <bR> <div> At a press conference Tuesday, the RCMP identified Bjarnason, along with seven other victims whose bodies were recovered Monday, as members of the same snowmobiling party.</div> <bR> <div> The names of the seven other men are: Leonard Stier, 40 and his son Michael Stier, 20, Warren Rothel, 33, Thomas Talarico, 32, Kane Rusnak, 30, Kurt Kabel, 28, and Blaine Wilson, 26.</div> <bR> <div> Randy Roberts, Bjarnason's father in law, told reporters Tuesday that the snowmobilers were all "best of friends" who were "just like a big group of kids that want to play."</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d971a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Randy Roberts, father-in-law of avalanche victim Danny Bjarnason, speaks to the media about eight dead snowmobilers in Fernie, B.C., Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008. (Jeff McIntosh / THE CANADIAN PRESS)</div> <div> <IMG SRC="d972a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> A member of the RCMP holds on to his hat as a rescue helicopter takes off in Fernie, B.C. Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008. (Jonathan Hayward / THE CANADIAN PRESS)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 493 WIDTH="707"><div> He said all of the men had the proper equipment with them -- including shovels, probes and transmitters.</div> <bR> <div> "You can never predict it," Roberts said, wiping away tears.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Deadly avalanches</B></div> <bR> <div> The eight victims, along with three others, were on snowmobiles in a backcountry area when the avalanches hit.</div> <bR> <div> The first avalanche buried three of the snowmobilers, but one of the three was able to free himself.</div> <bR> <div> A second avalanche then buried all 11 men.</div> <bR> <div> Three managed to escape and decided to go and get help, fearing that if they stayed a third avalanche could bury them again.</div> <bR> <div> "I think it was an excruciating decision that they had to make," David Wilks, mayor of Sparwood, told CTV's Canada AM on Tuesday.</div> <bR> <div> "They had to decide whether they had the ability to help their friends that were buried in the snow or whether they needed to start heading back to get help.</div> <bR> <div> "...They made the right decision because shortly after walking out another cornice came off that mountain and had they been in that area they may have met the same demise as their eight friends."</div> <bR> <div> The snowmobilers were all from the small coal-mining town of Sparwood, which has a population of just 3,900 people.</div> <bR> <div> Residents in tight-knit community will mourn together Tuesday evening at a public church service.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 145 WIDTH="707"><div> "They were hard working individuals, most of them worked in the coal mines," Wilks said. "They were respected in the community."</div> <bR> <div> Roberts said his daughter, Teresa, and Bjarnason had been together for 14 years, with no children.</div> <bR> <div> "Danny was a very caring gentleman. He was great with my daughter," he said.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="29"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 547 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Almost 150,000 customers still without power in Ont.</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. Dec. 29 2008  08:09  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 29th, 2008</div> <div> <B>Hydro One, the utility company serving rural Ontario, says most homes and businesses that lost power due to a weekend windstorm will get their power back Monday.</B></div> <bR> <div> But officials also warned that some customers in the province may have to wait until midweek before their electricity is restored.</div> <bR> <div> About 149,000 Hydro One customers were still without power in southwest and central Ontario on Monday morning, according to the utility's website.</div> <bR> <div> At one point over the weekend, about 230,000 customers -- mostly in rural areas -- were sitting in the dark.</div> <bR> <div> Many of them lost power after wind gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour swept across the province.</div> <bR> <div> The outages were being reported from Windsor in the far southwest to Huntsville in cottage country. Outages also extended north into Sudbury and Timmins, and into eastern Ontario.</div> <bR> <div> The storm also knocked down trees, ripped off roof tops and temporarily closed some roads, including Highway 401 near Morrisburg.</div> <bR> <div> The wind had died down in many regions affected by the power outages, but speeds could pick up again in some areas late Monday.</div> <bR> <div> According to Environment Canada, wind speeds in Barrie were below 20 km/h on Monday morning, but they could gust to 90 km/h overnight before slowing again.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d96ca0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Windblown debris from the damaged roof of a Kitchener, Ont. apartment building litters a parking lot on Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008. (Shawn Doherty / MyNews.CTV.ca)</div> <div> <IMG SRC="d96da0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Wind whips a flag at a shopping plaza as it weakens a hydro pole on Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="d96ea0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> A wind-damaged tree leans in a central Toronto neighbourhood on Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 124 WIDTH="707"><div> Meanwhile, power has been restored to most homes and businesses in Toronto. Toronto Hydro reported that less than 3,000 people were in the dark on Sunday night.</div> <bR> <div> Winds speeds at Pearson International Airport had died down to about 22 km/h on Monday morning after topping speeds of 70 km/h on Sunday.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="28"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 169 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Gusty winds causing havoc in parts of Ontario</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. Dec. 28 2008  12:07  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 28th, 2008</div> <div> <B>Power lines and trees are toppling around the province as gusty winds sweep across southern Ontario.</B></div> <bR> <div> The outages are being reported from Windsor in the far southwest to Huntsville in cottage country, but Environment Canada has weather warnings for all of southern Ontario except for the extreme southwest.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d96ba0780.gif" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Torontonians had to endure a warm, but foggy and wet day on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 542 WIDTH="707"><div> Some of the hardest-hit areas include Bala, Bracebridge and the Lake Huron shoreline. Outages are also reported in York region, ski country, Oakville and Burlington.</div> <bR> <div> The outages are generally local in nature.</div> <bR> <div> In Toronto, gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour have been reported at Pearson International Airport. Toronto Hydro said it has about 15 calls for downed wires.</div> <bR> <div> A glass balcony on a building right at the foot of Yonge Street shattered, but no one suffered injuries as a result of the falling glass.</div> <bR> <div> The high winds have forced the closure of the Skyway Bridge in Burlington, along with the northbound lanes of Highway 400 at Highway 9. The high winds topped tractor-trailer units in both locations.</div> <bR> <div> "The trailer's unloaded, and it just started swaying with the wind," OPP Sgt. Dave Woodford said from the Highway 400 location.</div> <bR> <div> A tow truck is attempting to right the truck at Highway 400.</div> <bR> <div> Environment Canada said Sunday that a storm system is passing across northeastern Ontario with a fast-moving cold front draping southwards from it.</div> <bR> <div> "Widespread wind gusts of 90 or 100 km/h are occurring along the front as it sweeps across the lower Great Lakes. Similar conditions are expected for all of eastern Ontario by early afternoon as the cold front races across that region," it said.</div> <bR> <div> The winds should lose strength over the aqfternoon but will remain strong, it said.</div> <bR> <div> "These winds are capable of falling trees and bringing down hydro lines as well as local damage to some structures."</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from ctvtoronto.ca</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="27"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 304 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Economists grim in their forecasts for 2009</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. Dec. 27 2008  07:37  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 27th, 2008</div> <div> <B>Can 2009 be as bad, or even worse, than 2008 for the global economy? The bad news is that yes, it's going to be a very bad year, but the good news is that Canada is expected to be better off than most countries.</B></div> <bR> <div> The World Bank was dour in its 2009 forecast, projecting that global GDP growth of 2.5 per cent in 2008 will drop to a mere 0.9 per cent in 2009.</div> <bR> <div> Even worse for North Americans is that the World Bank expects most of the GDP growth to be in developing countries, with high-income countries likely to experience negative growth.</div> <bR> <div> The Institute of International Finance, which represents 70 of the world's biggest banks, is even more grim. The institute says that it expects the world's economy will shrink next year, the first time that has happened in 50 years. The group says the global economy will shrink by 0.4 per cent.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d96aa0be0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="190" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty speaks with reporters in Saskatoon, Sask., Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / Geoff Howe)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 877 WIDTH="707"><div> Halfway through December, even the usually-optimistic Finance Minister Jim Flaherty finally admitted that Canada was headed for a deficit and a recession.</div> <bR> <div> "2009 is going to be a difficult year for Canada and for Canadians," Flaherty said in Saskatoon on Dec. 17.</div> <bR> <div> A report from RBC Economics says that it does not expect to see any growth in the Canadian economy at all in 2009 and that Canada will enter a technical recession.</div> <bR> <div> "We expect the slowdown in Canada not to be as severe as in other countries since the imbalances plaguing other countries are more pronounced," Craig Wright, chief economist at the Royal Bank of Canada, said in the report.</div> <bR> <div> <B>TSX to recover .. but when?</B></div> <bR> <div> On the Canadian stock exchange, CIBC forecaster Jeff Rubin, expects to see 20 per cent growth for the Toronto Stock exchange, but for most of those gains to take place in the latter half of 2009.</div> <bR> <div> "While the implied 20-per-cent-plus return warrants a full weighting in stocks, the near-term risks to the market from a contracting North American economy stand in the way of overweighting stocks at this point," he said in a message to clients.</div> <bR> <div> Falling oil prices particularly hurts the TSX in the short-term and the expected, though not guaranteed, positive response of a massive stimulus package from Washington may not be felt until summer 2009.</div> <bR> <div> Wright said in the RBC report that Canadian economic recovery should begin in the latter half of 2009.</div> <bR> <div> Ottawa's full response to the economic crisis is still an unknown, but the Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said his next budget will include a massive economic stimulus package and may go as far as $30 billion into deficit.</div> <bR> <div> Obviously, the biggest unknown for Canadians is what will happen to the auto sector. Billions are being allotted to automakers by both Washington and Ottawa, but there are no guarantees that the Detroit 3 will survive in their current form.</div> <bR> <div> Even with the massive amount of bailout cash from the U.S. government, Chrysler only has enough cash to make it through March, at which point its future veers into the unknown. Its parent company Cerberus has said that its wants to turn the company around, but it has also shopped Chrysler to General Motors.</div> <bR> <div> A report prepared by the Ontario government suggested that Canada could lose almost 600,000 jobs if the Detroit 3 go out of business, although it's highly unlikely that all three could go under in 2009. Ford says it has enough cash to stay afloat for all of 2009, though not much more.</div> <bR> <div> Retailers are also expected to be in a tough year, especially for shops in high-end electronics or those selling products seen as superfluous. However, budget friendly megastores like Wal-Mart are expected to thrive in the 2009 economy.</div> <bR> <div> Even the videogame industry, which was widely considered recession-proof, appears to be limping into 2009, with gamemaker giant Electronic Arts announcing plans in December to lay off 10 per cent of its workforce.</div> <bR> <div> 2008 was all downhill and 2009 will no doubt continue that trend. It's merely of matter of when in 2009 does the economy finally hit rock bottom and how deep that will be.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from Josh Visser</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="26"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 169 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Bargain hunters take advantage of Boxing Day deals</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. Dec. 26 2008  13:26  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 26th, 2008</div> <div> <B>Bargain hunters braved the morning cold Friday, lining up outside retailers to be the first to take advantage of Boxing Day deals.</B></div> <bR> <div> Electronic giants Best Buy and Future Shop opened at 6 a.m. at most locations across the country, with the exception of Quebec and Nova Scotia.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d968a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Bargain hunters hit the malls early to take advantage of price cuts on Friday, Dec. 26, 2008.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 617 WIDTH="707"><div> Both stores already started their Boxing Day sales early -- posting deals online as of Wednesday night -- but that didn't stop shoppers from coming out in droves on Friday morning.</div> <bR> <div> At the Best Buy location in Toronto's east-end, lineups stretched along the side of the building early Friday as anxious shoppers waited to get access to the store.</div> <bR> <div> One man said he even skipped Christmas dinner to be first in line at Best Buy. He stood outside the store on the grounds of the Scarborough Town Centre since 8:30 p.m. Thursday.</div> <bR> <div> "I got a TV, laptop, stuff like that," he said.</div> <bR> <div> The lines were also impressive at Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto. The annual Boxing Day sale at Coach, a popular purse retailer, had shoppers waiting outside the store in a line-up that stretched across the mall.</div> <bR> <div> "We've been here since 5:20 a.m. and it's so worth it," said one woman. "I told my husband I was going to Hallmark."</div> <bR> <div> Another woman and her friend told CTV Toronto they woke up at 4 a.m. to come to the sale for the third year in a row.</div> <bR> <div> Canadians retailers are hoping for a final year-end boost, although many say they've already been offering Boxing Day prices since late November.</div> <bR> <div> Many retailers have slashed prices even further for Boxing Day shoppers.</div> <bR> <div> Last year, Canadian shoppers were estimated to have spent $1.2 billion on Boxing Day bargains.</div> <bR> <div> This year, with the decline in the value of the loonie, Canadian retailers will not have to compete as fiercely with their American competitors.</div> <bR> <div> A recent study out of the U.S. found that shoppers spent about five to eight per cent less this Christmas.</div> <bR> <div> However, in Canada, an Interac survey found that Dec. 23, 2008 was the busiest day of the year for the electronic payment system with $15.9 million people swiping to pay. That figure is an increase from $15.6 million on the busiest day in 2007.</div> <bR> <div> <B>U.S. retailers open early</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 430 WIDTH="707"><div> In the U.S., major retailers also opened early, offerings shoppers 50 to 75 per cent off goods.</div> <bR> <div> In New York, J.C. Penney opened at 5:30 a.m., offering 100 "doorbusters" for customers who made the effort to wake up early. The chain was even making wake-up calls to customers who signed up online.</div> <bR> <div> In Miami, Laura Hernandez, 37, went to Wal-Mart to buy her son and husband the Christmas gift they really wanted -- a plasma TV.</div> <bR> <div> "When they saw that there was no Christmas gift larger than the Christmas tree, they knew there was no TV," Hernandez told The Associated Press. "They know Mommy is out early this morning bringing home their new toy."</div> <bR> <div> Meanwhile, newlywed Anthony Guites was out early in Miami trying to return gifts his wife had just bought him.</div> <bR> <div> "She got me a fishing rod that I don't like. She got me this tool set that I already have. And she got me workout clothes that, let's just say, are way too colorful for me," the 32-year-old told AP.</div> <bR> <div> The sales are expected to end a dismal holiday season on a high note, said one retail analyst. Eric Beder said consumers were too jittery to open their wallets before Christmas.</div> <bR> <div> "What happened here is that people are thinking about their jobs and the truth is that yes, it was a great boost, it was a nice boost for the savings," he said.. "But at the end of the day, the consumer looked at it and they're afraid of what's going to happen in two weeks with their paycheque."</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Associated Press and CTV Toronto's Naomi Parness</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="25"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 199 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>'Santa' killer in L.A. shot girl, 8, in the face</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. Dec. 26 2008  10:48  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 25th, 2008</div> <div> <B>COVINA, Calif. -- The bloodbath began when an 8-year-old girl attending a Christmas Eve party answered a knock at the door. A man dressed as Santa and carrying what appeared to a present pulled out a handgun and shot her in the face, then began shooting indiscriminately as partygoers tried to flee.</B></div> <bR> <div> By the time it was over, at least eight people at the party were dead and the house was torched. The gunman killed himself hours after exacting revenge against his ex-wife by going on a massacre at his former in-laws' home.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d967a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Bruce Jeffrey Pardo is seen in an undated photo provided Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008, by the Covina, Calif. Police Department. (AP / Covina Police Department)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 613 WIDTH="707"><div> Bruce Pardo's ex-wife and her parents were believed to be among the dead. At daybreak Friday, investigators planned to resume searching what was left of their two-story home on a cul-de-sac in a quiet Covina neighborhood 25 miles east of Los Angeles.</div> <bR> <div> Pardo, 45, had no criminal record and no history of violence, according to police, but he was angry following last week's settlement of his divorce after a marriage that lasted barely a year.</div> <bR> <div> "It was not an amicable divorce," police Lt. Pat Buchanan said.</div> <bR> <div> Investigators seeking further information about Pardo's motives have begun searching his home in the suburban Los Angeles community of Montrose.</div> <bR> <div> Police said he showed up at his former in-laws' home around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday for their annual Christmas party.</div> <bR> <div> The gift-wrapped box Pardo was carrying actually contained a pressurized homemade device he used to spray a liquid that quickly sent the house up in flames. Police said Pardo had recently worked in the aerospace industry.</div> <bR> <div> David Salgado, a neighbor, said he saw the 8-year-old victim being escorted to an ambulance by four SWAT team members as flames up to 40 feet high consumed the house.</div> <bR> <div> "It was really ugly," Salgado said.</div> <bR> <div> Another neighbor, Jan Gregory, said she saw a teenage boy flee the home, screaming "They shot my family!"</div> <bR> <div> A 16-year-old girl was shot in the back, and a 20-year-old woman broke her ankle when she escaped by jumping from a second-story window. Those two, and the 8-year-old, remained hospitalized. All were expected to recover.</div> <bR> <div> When the fire was extinguished early Thursday, officers found three charred bodies in the living room area.</div> <bR> <div> "They were met with a scene that was just indescribable," police Chief Kim Raney said. Investigators found five more bodies amid the ashes later in the day and planned to return Friday to continue looking.</div> <bR> <div> None of the dead or missing has been identified. Authorities were unable to immediately determine whether the victims were killed by the flames or the gunfire.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 484 WIDTH="707"><div> Following the shootings, Pardo quickly got out of the Santa suit and drove off, witnesses told police. He went to his brother's home about 25 miles away in the Sylmar area of Los Angeles. No one was home, so Pardo let himself in, police said.</div> <bR> <div> Police were called to the home early Thursday, and officers found Pardo dead of a single bullet to the head. Two handguns were found at the scene, and two more were discovered in the wreckage of his former in-laws' house.</div> <bR> <div> A car that Pardo apparently parked near his brother's home exploded Thursday evening and more ammunition was found in it, Los Angeles police Sgt. Francisco Wheeling said. She had no immediate details on what set off the explosion. No one was hurt.</div> <bR> <div> Pardo's next-door neighbor, who did not want her name published to protect her privacy, said he moved in more than a year ago with a woman and a child. She said they kept mostly to themselves and the woman later moved out with the child.</div> <bR> <div> Pardo was often seen walking a dog around the neighborhood and working on his lawn, the neighbor said.</div> <bR> <div> He also served regularly as an usher at evening Mass at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montrose, the<I> Los Angeles Times</I> reported.</div> <bR> <div> Jan Detanna, the head usher at the church, was stunned when told about the violence.</div> <bR> <div> "I'm just -- this is shocking," Detanna told the Times. "He was the nicest guy you could imagine. Always a pleasure to talk to, always a big smile."</div> <bR> <div> Bong Garcia, another of Pardo's next-door neighbors, told the Times he saw Pardo between 9 and 10 p.m. Christmas Eve and spoke briefly to him. Pardo told him he was on his way to a Christmas party, Garcia said.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Associated Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="24"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 585 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Air Canada cancels more flights due to bad weather</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. Dec. 24 2008  13:53  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 24th, 2008</div> <div> <B>While many Canadians are cheering the blanket of fresh snow that may give the nation its first white Christmas in 40 years, the festive weather is also causing havoc at travel hubs from east to west.</B></div> <bR> <div> In Toronto, several days of falling snow have the city's road maintenance teams playing catch-up, and more is expected Wednesday morning before rising temperatures turn the precipitation to rain.</div> <bR> <div> The main travel concerns on Christmas Eve were in the West, as Air Canada issued an advisory saying snowfall in Vancouver has forced the airline to cancel "short- and medium-haul flights to and from Vancouver."</div> <bR> <div> That means flights between Alberta and Vancouver (in both directions) have been cancelled.</div> <bR> <div> "Air Canada will endeavour to maintain its scheduled transcontinental and international long-haul flights to and from the following destinations for the remainder of today: Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa ... (But) the flight schedule to and from Vancouver for Thursday December 25th is expected to remain reduced," said an advisory posted on the airline's website.</div> <bR> <div> The heavy snow has caused numerous delays at Pearson International Airport, with frustrated passengers trying to find alternate ways to make it home for Christmas.</div> <bR> <div> The Air Canada advisory won't come as good news for some passengers after days of cancellations and delays, and the Vancouver region's weather appears to be only getting worse.</div> <bR> <div> "Total snowfall amounts of 15 to 25 centimeters are forecast before the snow tapers to a few flurries Thursday morning. Strong winds will also develop as the system approaches and visibility will be locally reduced in blowing snow," said a "Snowfall warning" on Environment Canada's website.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d962a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Southern Ontario was hit with another storm Tuesday night, causing a messy morning commute as the heavy snow turned to rain, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="d963a0fa0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="250" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> A storm system moves through Southern Ontario as seen in this Environment Canada infrared satellite image taken 7:45 a.m. ET, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 610 WIDTH="707"><div> Thirty centimetres fell in the greater Vancouver region on Sunday.</div> <bR> <div> <B>More cancellations expected</B></div> <bR> <div> CTV British Columbia's Rena Heer said the snow would likely lead to more cancellations. "Things come to a little bit of a grinding halt," Heer told CTV's Canada AM.</div> <bR> <div> "Schools close, ferries stop working, especially local transit ferries haven't been working all that well, so it's been typical reaction as far as we're concerned."</div> <bR> <div> One flight passenger told Canada AM he and his daughter spent hours on the tarmac in Vancouver, waiting for their flight to depart for Toronto amid weather and volume-related delays.</div> <bR> <div> "They put us on a plane and left us there for 11 hours without moving, and with the threat we would lose our flight if we got off the plane. And technically they said you can't get off the plane if you have bags," said Larry Mickolwin from Etobicoke, Ont. </div> <div> "And then they left us sitting in the dark saying it would be more comfortable sitting there than in the lobby, and they just didn't have their act together, so they left us there for 11 hours, and then our flight, so we were there for 16 hours."</div> <bR> <div> Greater Toronto Airports Authority spokesperson Scott Armstrong told CTV.ca that conditions at Pearson International airport have improved significantly.</div> <bR> <div> "Things are going well today," he said.</div> <bR> <div> "We're looking at about 50 cancellations today. There were some delays this morning but they've cleared up. (But) you need to consider the airports at both ends of the flight."</div> <bR> <div> In Halifax -- the Canadian city most likely to have a green Christmas due to rising temperatures Wednesday -- airport officials were working to sift through a backlog of delayed and cancelled flights following several days of snowy weather in Atlantic Canada.</div> <bR> <div> Peter Spurway, of the Halifax International Airport Authority, said conditions there were in "pretty good shape" Wednesday morning, but many travellers have been holed up in the airport for the last few days waiting for flights out.</div> <bR> <div> He said delays in other parts of the country have had a ripple effect on the Halifax flight schedule.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 140 WIDTH="707"><div> "There is still a backlog," Spurway told Canada AM. "We are in day six of this cycle and it is the classic combination of poor weather, not only in one area of the country but in many areas of the country... unprecedented weather there, plus the fact it is the busiest, most concentrated travel period of the year."</div> <bR> <div> Halifax had about 10 centimetres of snow as of Tuesday, but much of that accumulation was expected to melt later Wednesday as temperatures were predicted to rise.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Canadian Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="23"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 250 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Report slams coalition forces for Afghanistan raids</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Dec. 23 2008  08:14  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 23rd, 2008</div> <div> <B>KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Lethal air strikes and "abusive" nighttime raids by coalition forces in Afghanistan threaten to turn the local population against foreign troops, according to a report released Tuesday.</B></div> <bR> <div> The report, released in Kabul by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, says U.S. and NATO air strikes and nighttime searches of civilian houses could undermine seven years of trying to win the hearts and minds of Afghans.</div> <bR> <div> "Afghan families experienced their family members killed or injured, their houses or other property destroyed, or homes invaded at night without any perceived justification or legal authorization," the report says.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d95ca0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Members of Operational Detachment Alpha 3336 of the 3rd Special Forces Group Airborne recon the remote Shok Valley of Afghanistan, Monday, Dec. 15, 2008. (Sgt. David N. Gunn / U.S. Army)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 662 WIDTH="707"><div> "They often did not know who perpetrated the acts against the family or why. ... To their knowledge and perception those who perpetrated the acts were never punished, nor prevented from repeating them."</div> <bR> <div> The 55-page report says the night raids frequently involve "abusive behaviour and violent breaking and entry," which it says stoke almost as much anger toward coalition forces as the air strikes.</div> <bR> <div> "Afghans in these regions generally know stories of friends or family members who have been awakened in the middle of the night to be tied up, and often abused by a group of armed men," it says.</div> <bR> <div> "Whether individual stories are true or are hearsay is difficult to verify. Nonetheless the prevalence of the stories, and the instances AIHRC has investigated, suggest these night raids do occur and with some regularity."</div> <bR> <div> Canadian military officials at Kandahar Airfield were not immediately available to comment on the report.</div> <bR> <div> British Royal Navy Capt. Mark Windsor, a spokesman for NATO forces in Afghanistan, said the military alliance is aware of the criticisms raised in the report.</div> <bR> <div> "We have to do our job, obviously, but we must demonstrate proportionality and restraint and discrimination in the use of firepower," Windsor said.</div> <bR> <div> "We are concerned about this . . . and we are trying our utmost to work with the Afghan security forces to try and reduce civilian casualties, but also any distress to our Afghan hosts in this country."</div> <bR> <div> The Afghan human rights commission found the air strikes, which have been harshly condemned by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, may have been symptomatic of excessive use of force.</div> <bR> <div> Several high-profile attacks in recent months have killed scores of civilians. At least several dozen people - including women and children -- died during an Aug. 22 U.S. raid on the village of Azizabad in Herat province.</div> <bR> <div> Monthly tracking information from the United Nations' shows 1798 civilian deaths this year between January and the end of October. Of those deaths, the UN says 455 were caused by coalition air strikes.</div> <bR> <div> Karzai has said civilian deaths erode support for the war among his people. He has pushed for a review of the use of U.S. and NATO air power.</div> <bR> <div> Two Canadian cabinet ministers - Defence Minister Peter MacKay and International Trade Minister Stockwell Day -- recently dismissed Karzai's criticisms as rhetoric in the lead up to next year's Afghan elections.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 339 WIDTH="707"><div> Earlier this month, U.S. naval officials hosted Karzai aboard an American carrier to assure him that the military is taking all precautions to avoid civilian casualties during air strikes.</div> <bR> <div> The report says the lack of co-ordination between coalition forces, and between the foreign soldiers and local authorities, may lead to unreliable sources or faulty intelligence, which could raise the civilian death toll.</div> <bR> <div> It says local resentment is exacerbated by long and opaque chains of command, lengthy investigations and response times, and a failure to quickly acknowledge misconduct or civilian losses.</div> <bR> <div> The commission, which is funded by the countries involved in the NATO mission in Afghanistan, made a deal with Canada last year to monitor the condition of all detainees seized by the Canadian military and handed over to Afghan officials.</div> <bR> <div> To compile the report, investigators from the commission spent three weeks interviewing 74 witnesses, including Afghan villagers, military personnel, local authorities and government officials.</div> <bR> <div> The commission also analyzed information from its regular reporting and incident monitoring, and scoured media reports and investigations by other human rights groups.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Canadian Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="22"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 149 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Think the economy was bad in 2008? Wait until 2009</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. Dec. 22 2008  06:56  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 22nd, 2008</div> <div> <B>OTTAWA -- It's going to get worse.</B></div> <bR> <div> As bad as the past few months were, even the rosiest of economic forecasts shows on average Canadians will get poorer in 2009, and many -- perhaps as many as 200,000 additional workers - will lose their jobs as the economic recession deepens. </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="d959a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 604 WIDTH="707"><div> The economic tsunami that was well below the surface as 2008 began hit Canada's shores with a crash in the fall and is only now washing deeper inshore swallowing an economy that once appeared impregnable -- having withstood both the Asian financial crisis a decade ago and the 9-11 fallout in the United States.</div> <bR> <div> Prime Minister Stephen Harper described it best in a recent television interview in which he perhaps tellingly did not reject out of hand the possibility of a depression -- a deep economic downturn in which output shrinks by 10 per cent or more.</div> <bR> <div> "I've never seen such uncertainty ... I'm very worried about the Canadian economy," he said, before explaining that governments had learned survival lessons from the 1930s depression that they are applying to the current situation.</div> <bR> <div> But as Merrill Lynch's Canadian chief economist David Wolf put it: "Given the events of the past few months how can you rule anything out? Even us bears have been surprised at just how aggressively things have unravelled."</div> <bR> <div> A key lesson of the Great Depression -- and a reason economists believe the damage can be contained shy of D-terrain -- is that governments must not sit idly by as the cancer spreads.</div> <bR> <div> The U.S., Europe, China and others have already stepped to the plate with Ruthian stimulus packages worth trillions of dollars in total, and Harper has suggested spending measures in the $20-billion range are being prepared for the Jan. 27 budget, at a price of a huge deficit.</div> <bR> <div> As well, Ottawa and Ontario announced Saturday that $4 billion will go into jump-starting the battered Canadian auto sector, with more likely to come as part of a North American industry restructuring.</div> <bR> <div> The measures aren't necessarily going to be popular with Canadians, although they are likely a minimum condition for preventing a Liberal-NDP coalition, with the backing of the Bloc Quebecois, from seeking to dump the government once Parliament resumes in late January.</div> <bR> <div> A Canadian Press Harris/Decima poll conducted in mid-month found only 39 per cent support for stimulus spending if it means Ottawa will go into deficit.</div> <bR> <div> For policy makers, the deficit ship has long since sailed.</div> <bR> <div> Even sober-minded economists don't see much to shout about in keeping government books in the black if it means the rest of the country sinks. If everyone else is too scared to spend their last dime, governments had better, they reason.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 604 WIDTH="707"><div> "Unfortunately it's necessary. Things could be very ugly if policy makers don't step in to support the economy, in certain cases specific industries," said Bank of Montreal deputy chief economist Douglas Porter.</div> <bR> <div> "It still going to be the weakest year since '91," agreed Dale Orr, managing director of IHS Global Insight. "The second half will be better than the first, thank goodness, but we'll need another year after that before we're back to the economy returning to potential."</div> <bR> <div> Orr's analysis is shared almost universally among private sector economists, who have been busily revising even their bleakest forecasts in the past few weeks.</div> <bR> <div> Last week, the Bank of Nova Scotia set the standard for low with a projection that the economy would shrink 1.2 per cent in 2009. A day later the Bank of Montreal did it one notch better at minus 1.3 per cent.</div> <bR> <div> The shocker, however, is that most expect a seldom considered statistic called nominal gross domestic product - which measures the value of what the country produces - to become headline news next year as the wealth-effect of high commodity prices over the last six years gets reversed big time with oil in the tank and prices of minerals, grains, coal and other commodities also in decline.</div> <bR> <div> Many are expecting nominal GDP to shrink by as much as three per cent in 2009, bringing lower corporate profits, lower government revenues and most importantly, lower wages for Canadians.</div> <bR> <div> "That's a shrinking of the economic pie the likes of which we really haven't seen for generations," said Wolf.</div> <bR> <div> The latest projections also predict Canada's unemployment rate will rise to about eight per cent, from the current 6.3 per cent, resulting in something Canadians also haven't seen in a generation, outright job losses of 200,000 from the recession's peak to trough.</div> <bR> <div> While the jobless rise in 2009 will hurt, it's still a far cry from the last two recessions. Unemployment hit 13 per cent in the 1980-81 decline, when industrial North America - mainly the steel and auto sectors - went through a painful restructuring. In the early 1990s the recession hurt real estate and retail sectors and pushed the jobless rate to 10 per cent.</div> <bR> <div> How do we get ourselves out of this mess?</div> <bR> <div> A recovery is coming, economists say, and it's likely from a combination of several factors.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 426 WIDTH="707"><div> Surely some good must come from the trillions of dollars being poured into the economy from governments around the world, they figure.</div> <bR> <div> The other bright spot - although it's cold comfort to Canada's oilpatch - comes from cheap oil, which will cut business costs and leave more money in the pockets of consumers around the world.</div> <bR> <div> And then there's that fickle measure called consumer confidence, which has been dining on despair for months and sits at its lowest level in more than a quarter century.</div> <bR> <div> Orr believes much of the loss of trust and confidence among investors and consumers stems from global markets' stomach-churning bungee jump since mid-September.</div> <bR> <div> In Canada, the stock market has lost more than 40 per cent of its value since a mid-June record high, wiping out hundreds of billions of dollars of stock value and squeezing the investments of Canadians held in pension plans, stocks and mutual funds. That has made people feel poorer and tighten their wallets and companies from cutting investments and expansion plans.</div> <bR> <div> "Everybody is gloom and doom now, but things could turn around quickly," Orr says. "Everybody is now waiting for conformation we're at the bottom and if you can get a week or two of really strong markets, there will be a piling on phenomenon and people won't be able to wait to get back in."</div> <bR> <div> But as he hurries to add, it might not be wise to bank on it happening in 2009.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Canadian Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="21"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 664 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Snow, extreme cold mark first day of winter</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. Dec. 21 2008  10:01  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 21st, 2008</div> <div> <B>Today is the first official day of winter, and Mother Nature is making sure that Canadians know it.</B></div> <bR> <div> Winter officially arrived at 7:04 a.m. Sunday, and the change in season corresponds with a number of winter storm, snowfall and wind chill warnings that are in effect across the country.</div> <bR> <div> Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning for Vancouver, which could see anywhere from five to 15 cm of snow by tonight.</div> <bR> <div> "A pacific frontal system over British Columbia has combined with entrenched Arctic air, producing yet another significant winter storm," the warning reads. "Travel will continue to be treacherous on roads and highways."</div> <bR> <div> Parts of Vancouver Island are also expected to experience winds gusting up to 90 kilometres per hour.</div> <bR> <div> Wind chill and snowfall warnings are also in effect for parts of the B.C. interior, where temperatures could dip to as low as -40 C with the wind.</div> <bR> <div> Wind chill warnings are also in effect across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, which could see temperatures drop to -45 C as winds gust up to 60 kilometres per hour.</div> <bR> <div> In southern Ontario, where a storm on Friday already dumped as much as 30 cm of snow, several regions from Niagara in the west to Ottawa in the east are under winter storm and snowfall warnings, with as many as 20 cm of the white stuff possible by the end of Sunday.</div> <bR> <div> Environment Canada also predicts as much as 20 cm of snow in Montreal and 30 cm of snow in other parts of Quebec.</div> <bR> <div> All of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and parts of Newfoundland, are under winter storm and snowfall warnings, as the blizzard that is moving through Ontario this morning continues its eastward march.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d956a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The system brought many regions its first serious snowfall, including Westmount, Quebec on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2008. (Jean-Philippe Castonguay / MyNews.CTV.ca)</div> <div> <IMG SRC="d957a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Heavy snow throughout much of Canada caused treacherous driving conditions, as suffered by this Vancouver driver on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2008.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="d958a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> While the snow is causing headaches for many coast to coast, it is also making for picturesque moments such as this one in Vancouver courtesy of frozen water surrounding a fountain.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 406 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Second storm on the way for southwestern Ontario</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. Dec. 20 2008  08:19  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 20th, 2008</div> <div> <B>After a blast of winter that dumped as much as 30 cm of snow on parts of southwestern Ontario, the region will get a short reprieve before another storm hits early Sunday morning.</B></div> <bR> <div> Environment Canada has put much of the region under a winter storm watch, as a new system could dump another five to 15 cm of the white stuff on the region.</div> <bR> <div> "After a brief break today from nasty winter weather in the wake of Friday's winter storm the next disturbance in the series will threaten to intensify into a winter storm tonight and Sunday as it moves from the U.S. Midwest into southern Ontario," the warning said.</div> <bR> <div> Unlike Friday's storm, this second system is expected to also wreak havoc across Quebec and the Maritimes.</div> <bR> <div> Environment Canada has already put parts of Quebec, including Montreal, under a snowfall warning, with accumulations of 15 cm or more expected.</div> <bR> <div> Toronto's Pearson International Airport, the country's busiest, will be scrambling to catch up on holiday flights today, after the storm forced the cancellation of more than 300 flights on Friday.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d954a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Lowell Olson tries to free his mini-van in Racine, Wis, after a major snowstorm blanketed the Racine area, Friday Dec. 19, 2008. (AP / Journal Times, Mark Hertzberg)</div> <div> <IMG SRC="d955a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Marcus Schlater, seen in the background, bought a snowblower just in time for the snowstorm Friday Dec. 19, 2008, in Burlington, Wis. (AP / Journal Times, Paul Sloth)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 238 WIDTH="707"><div> At least 50 Saturday flights are already cancelled or delayed.</div> <bR> <div> Friday's weather system dumped as much as 20 cm of snow throughout the GTA, and more in outlying areas. </div> <div> The storm buried Hamilton, Ont., under 30 cm of snow.</div> <bR> <div> On Friday evening, CTV Toronto weather specialist Dave Devall said that Toronto had already received 21.4 cm of snow so far in December.</div> <bR> <div> The normal snowfall total for Toronto is about 29.2 cm.</div> <bR> <div> "With more storms on the way, we could see up to 80 cm of snow on the ground by the end of the month," Devall said.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Canadian Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="19"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 147 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Gas prices slow inflation rate to two per cent</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. Dec. 19 2008  08:26  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 19th, 2008</div> <div> <B>The steep drop in gas prices again helped slow Canada's inflation rate, pushing it down to two per cent in November from 2.6 per cent in October.</B></div> <bR> <div> According to Statistics Canada, gas prices were 14.4 per cent lower in November, compared to a year earlier -- far offsetting increases for food and shelter items.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="d70ca0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 376 WIDTH="707"><div> On a monthly basis, gas prices fell 21.4 per cent from October to November 2008.</div> <bR> <div> Core inflation, which excludes volatile items such as food and fuel, rose to 2.4 per cent in November from 1.7 per cent in October -- primarily due to smaller price decreases for purchasing and leasing passenger vehicles.</div> <bR> <div> In the 12 months to November, prices to purchase and lease passenger vehicles fell 2.7 per cent compared with the more robust 12-month drop of 9 per cent in October.</div> <bR> <div> Douglas Porter, deputy-chief economist at Bank of Montreal, called the jump in core inflation the "big story."</div> <bR> <div> "The major mover here was a 7.2 per cent monthly spike in auto prices, as annual price adjustments for new vehicles are captured in November," he wrote in a note to clients.</div> <bR> <div> "It's highly unlikely these big price increases can stick in this environment, but clearly the days of massive loonie-related discounts are miles behind us. The spike in car prices alone (with a near-9-per-cent weight in underlying prices), accounted for basically all of the upside surprise in core."</div> <bR> <div> Porter said the figures show Canada is much less at risk of near-term deflation because of stronger underlying spending conditions and the weaker loonie.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Provincial statistics</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 376 WIDTH="707"><div> Across Canada, growth in consumer prices slowed in all 10 provinces, with the most pronounced slowdowns in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.</div> <bR> <div> In Nova Scotia, prices rose an average of 1.3 per cent in November, compared to 3.4 per cent in October. In Prince Edward Island, growth slowed from 3.9 per cent to 2.3 per cent from October to November.</div> <bR> <div> "In almost every case, the slowdown was due to falling gasoline prices," says the report.</div> <bR> <div> Excluding gasoline, the Consumer Price Index jumped 2.8 per cent in November -- the fastest pace of growth since May 2003.</div> <bR> <div> "The most significant individual contributors to November's 12-month increase in consumer prices were mortgage interest costs, natural gas prices and prices for various food items, particularly bakery and cereal products, as well as fresh vegetables," says the report.</div> <bR> <div> Last month's inflation report, which focused on the month of October, showed the largest month-to-month dive in Canada's inflation rate in nearly half a century.</div> <bR> <div> The drop -- 3.4 per cent in September to 2.6 per cent in October -- was also due to the sharp drop in gas prices.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Canadian Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="18"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 130 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Oil prices hover near 4.5-year low despite OPEC cut</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. Dec. 18 2008  07:22  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 18th, 2008</div> <div> <B>Oil prices hovered near 4 1/2-year lows Thursday as persistent investor pessimism over global crude demand outweighed the news of OPEC's largest-ever production cut.</B></div> <bR> <div> Light, sweet crude for January delivery edged up 47 cents to US$40.53 a barrel in electronic</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="cc9ca0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 625 WIDTH="707"><div> trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe. Earlier, it fell as low as $39.19 -- a level not seen since at least July 2004.</div> <bR> <div> Overnight, the contract fell $3.54 to settle at $40.06 a barrel, after touching $39.88.</div> <bR> <div> The Nymex contract for February delivery, which analysts said better reflected oil price trends, was up 82 cents to $45.43 a barrel.</div> <bR> <div> "WTI for January expires tomorrow and ... the expiring contract can go anywhere," said Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix in Switzerland, referring to West Texas Intermediate, the type of crude oil used for the Nymex contracts.</div> <bR> <div> The 13-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which accounts for about 40 of global oil supply, said Wednesday it planned to reduce its output quotas by 2.2 million barrels a day.</div> <bR> <div> But markets had already expected a vastly reduced flow of oil and traders focused instead on troubling economic data that points to a long and severe global economic slump.</div> <bR> <div> "The market apparently had already priced in this cut," said Peter McGuire, managing director at investment firm Commodity Warrants Australia in Sydney. "I think OPEC will have to have another meeting in January, and I wouldn't be surprised to see possibly a 3 million cut next time."</div> <bR> <div> OPEC's next official meeting is scheduled for March. The group had already announced cuts totaling 2 million barrels earlier this year, also with little effect. The unprecedented production cuts and the market reaction show just how fast energy demand has fallen during the worst economic downturn in at least a generation.</div> <bR> <div> Oil prices have tumbled 73 per cent since July. What started as a crisis in the U.S. sub-prime mortgage sector last year has mushroomed into a recession in most developed countries and a sharp downturn in emerging markets.</div> <bR> <div> U.S. crude inventories rose slightly last week and gasoline reserves increased as demand stayed below year-ago levels, according to government data released Wednesday.</div> <bR> <div> Analysts had expected crude stocks to fall 900,000 barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Associated Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="17"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 614 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Safety officials probe collapse of gondola tower</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. Dec. 17 2008  04:46  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 17th, 2008</div> <div> <B>Safety officials will be on site at Blackcomb Mountain in Whistler, B.C., Wednesday trying to determine why a gondola support tower collapsed, trapping more than 50 people for nearly four hours.</B></div> <bR> <div> The tower collapsed around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, trapping 53 skiers and snowboarders for several hours in subzero temperatures.</div> <bR> <div> By 6:15 p.m., all of the passengers had been evacuated.</div> <bR> <div> "What happened was halfway up the mountain a tower somehow snapped and that caused extreme slack in the cable lines," CTV's Reshmi Nair reported Wednesday from Whistler.</div> <bR> <div> "None of the cabins on the cable lines actually came off the wires but there was significant slack in it."</div> <bR> <div> The three cabins closest to the ground appear to have taken the brunt of the impact.</div> <bR> <div> "Passengers on board the one closest to the ground said it hit the ground pretty violently, the next cabin actually landed on top of a bus shelter and the third cabin was left dangling above a creek," Nair said.</div> <bR> <div> The RCMP says 13 people suffered minor injuries after the tow line stopped abruptly when the tower collapsed.</div> <bR> <div> Transport Canada, the RCMP, the BC Safety Authority, and Whistler Blackcomb will all have officials on site Wednesday, Nair confirmed.</div> <bR> <div> "Whistler Blackcomb is hoping that they'll finally have a cause by the end of today," she said.</div> <bR> <div> Passenger Cynthia Jennings, who was in a car halfway up the mountain when the pole snapped, said the ordeal was frightening.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d941a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Crews work at the scene after a gondola support tower partially collapsed at Blackcomb Mountain in Whistler, B.C., on Tuesday December 16, 2008. (Darryl Dyck / THE CANADIAN PRESS)</div> <div> <IMG SRC="d942a0230.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="291" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> A gondola car hangs over a creek after a gondola support tower partially collapsed at Blackcomb Mountain in Whistler, B.C., on Tuesday December 16, 2008. (Darryl Dyck / THE CANADIAN PRESS)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 381 WIDTH="707"><div> "All we saw were other cars swinging sideways and we thought we were going to crash to the ground," she told CTV News by cellphone.</div> <bR> <div> "I thought the whole cable system was going to come down. I couldn't even breathe."</div> <bR> <div> The fire department used a long ladder to reach some of the passengers.</div> <bR> <div> Witness Dave Komadowski, who was standing at the base of the mountain when the tower collapsed, said some of the nearby houses may have been damaged during the incident.</div> <bR> <div> He added that one house was damaged when the cable dropped onto its roof.</div> <bR> <div> This is not the first accident to happen on a ski lift at Whistler-Blackcomb, which will host alpine events at the 2010 Winter Games.</div> <bR> <div> In 1993, an accident on Whistler's Quicksilver lift killed two men, and injured nine others.</div> <bR> <div> The high-speed lift was ferrying skiers to the top of the mountain when a chair slipped on a cable and slammed into another, sending four chairs crashing into the rocks three storeys below.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from ctvbc.ca and The Canadian Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="16"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 436 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Canadian diplomat kidnapped by rebel group: report</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Dec. 16 2008  07:39  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 16th, 2008</div> <div> <B>A rebel group in Niger is claiming to have kidnapped Canadian diplomat Robert Fowler.</B></div> <bR> <div> On its website, the Front des Forces de Redressement, says it captured Fowler during a commando operation in the Tilabery region.</div> <bR> <div> The group says it is also holding three other hostages, believed to include Fowler's Canadian aide, Louis Guay, and his local driver.</div> <bR> <div> Fowler is currently serving as the UN's special envoy to Niger.</div> <bR> <div> Late Sunday, local residents found an abandoned United Nations Development Programme car which was supposed to be carrying the two Canadians and the missing driver.</div> <bR> <div> The car was found about 40 kilometres northeast of Niamey, the capital of Niger.</div> <bR> <div> UN spokesperson Farhan Haq could not confirm Tuesday if the rebel group was indeed holding Fowler.</div> <bR> <div> "We'll have to study any communications to see whether they can be verified or whether they're reliable," Haq told CTV's Canada AM on Tuesday morning.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d93ba0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Robert Fowler checks out news from home as he attends the opening session of the Earth Summit at the United Nations in New York on Monday, June 23, 1997. (Ryan Remiorz / THE CANADIAN PRESS)</div> <div> <IMG SRC="d93ca0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Robert Fowler, left, and former prime minister Jean Chretien arrive for a G8 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Tuesday, June 25, 2002. (Fred Chartrand / THE CANADIAN PRESS)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 509 WIDTH="707"><div> "At this stage I wouldn't have any comment and I wouldn't try and speculate."</div> <bR> <div> Haq said the UN is actively working with officials in Niger to locate the three men.</div> <bR> <div> On Monday, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon released a statement saying consular officials "are actively engaged" with officials in Niger and at the UN.</div> <bR> <div> "I want to assure family, friends and all Canadians that we will do everything we can to resolve the situation successfully," he said in the statement.</div> <bR> <div> Fowler's family knows that he is missing, but are reluctant to talk about the situation for fear that doing so may put him in danger.</div> <bR> <div> UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed the 64-year-old Fowler as special envoy for Niger last July.</div> <bR> <div> Fowler is also a senior fellow of the University of Ottawa's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.</div> <bR> <div> University of Ottawa spokesperson Nadine Saint-Amour told CTV.ca that Fowler had been teaching at the school since the fall of 2007.</div> <bR> <div> Fowler has had a long career in public service, working for Canada and for the UN.</div> <bR> <div> He is a former deputy defence minister, also served as a foreign policy adviser under several prime ministers and previously served as Canada's ambassador to Italy.</div> <bR> <div> Fowler is also a former Security Council member and UN ambassador.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Canadian Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="15"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 130 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>No injuries as Air Canada plane slides off runway</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. Dec. 15 2008  06:58  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 15th, 2008</div> <div> <B>NORTH BAY, Ont. - -- There were no injuries early Monday when an Air Canada Jazz airplane slid off the runway at Jack Garland Airport in North Bay, Ont.</B></div> <bR> <div> Police say the Dash-8 aircraft, arriving on a flight from London, Ont., had 15 passengers and</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="d936a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 166 ><NOBR><div> three crew on board. Sgt. Andre Berube says the plane slid about 150 metres into the snow at the end of the runway.</div> <bR> <div> Emergency personnel helped the passengers off the plane once a path was cleared through the deep snow.</div> <bR> <div> Berube say the tarmac was extremely icy and it was very foggy at the time of the incident just after midnight.</div> <bR> <div> Police say the flight crew should be commended for bringing the aircraft to a safe stop.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Canadian Press</I></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="14"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 254 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Bodies of three slain soldiers on their way home</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. Dec. 14 2008  13:48  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 14th, 2008</div> <div> <B>The bodies of three Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan this weekend are headed home after a solemn ramp ceremony Sunday evening at Kandahar Airfield.</B></div> <bR> <div> Soldiers carried the bodies of Cpl. Thomas James Hamilton, Pvt. John Michael Roy Curwin and Pvt. Justin Peter Jones onto a military plane bound for CFB Trenton.</div> <bR> <div> The ceremony was attended by fewer troops than usual as a security measure in the wake of numerous rocket attacks that hit the base earlier in the day.</div> <bR> <div> The three soldiers were killed around 9 a.m. Saturday local time, after their armoured vehicle struck an improvised explosive device on a highway west of Kandahar City.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d935a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Private John Michael Roy Curwin, Corporal Thomas James Hamilton and Private Justin Peter Jones were killed as a result of an improvised explosive device attack on an armoured vehicle during a patrol in the Arghandab District on Dec. 13, 2008.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 107 ><NOBR><bR> <div> All three were with Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, RCR based in Gagetown, New Brunswick.</div> <bR> <div> A fourth soldier was injured in the blast and is in fair condition at the base's military hospital.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="13"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 130 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Three soldiers killed, one injured in Afghanistan</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sati. Dec. 13 2008  17:39  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 13th, 2008</div> <div> <B>Three Canadian soldiers have died west of Kandahar city, after an improvised explosive device detonated. A fourth soldier was injured in the blast</B></div> <bR> <div> The soldiers were responding to reports of people planting a suspicious object.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="d934a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 430 WIDTH="707"><bR> <div> The Canadian military said Saturday that primary next-of-kin have been notified, but the soldiers will not be identified until extended family members have been contacted.</div> <bR> <div> The news came as 1,000 mourners paid tribute to Cpl. Mark Robert McLaren in a Peterborough, Ont., drill hall. He was one of three soldiers killed in a roadside blast on Dec. 5, bringing Canada's troop death toll to the grim milestone of 100.</div> <bR> <div> McLaren, 23, died alongside Pte. Demetrios Diplaros, 23, and Warrant Officer Robert John Wilson, 27, on Dec. 5, when the armoured truck they were travelling in struck an IED.</div> <bR> <div> Saturday's deaths occurred near where the Dec. 5 attack happened, just west of Kandahar City, on the border between the Arghandab and Zhari districts, near the village of Senjaray.</div> <bR> <div> "It's the same type of attack, an IED, in almost exactly the same place," Globe and Mail reporter Graeme Smith told CTV Newsnet on the phone from Kandahar.</div> <bR> <div> "It's a very dangerous stretch of highway that runs west of Kandahar city, just over the bridge that leads you out to the farmland where Canadians have been fighting for the last two years."</div> <bR> <div> The area was not considered a Taliban stronghold until recently, Smith said.</div> <bR> <div> With the latest attack, Canada's troop death toll is now 103. A Canadian diplomat has also been killed.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="12"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 428 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Markets en route to big losses after bailout failure</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. Dec. 12 2008  08:26  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 12th, 2008</div> <div> <B>TORONTO -- Stock markets are headed for a plunge after the proposed US$14-billion bailout of the Detroit-based automakers crashed and burned in the American Senate.</B></div> <bR> <div> Recession worries are intensifying amid fears the woes of the automakers will sweep through the wider economy, especially ravaging suppliers of parts and raw materials. General Motors and Chrysler have said they could run out of money within weeks without government help.</div> <bR> <div> Adding to job-loss fears was word that Bank of America expects to cut as many as 35,000 jobs over the next three years. More glum economic numbers are expected (at 8:30 a.m. ET) when the U.S. Commerce Department releases retail sales data for November.</div> <bR> <div> The Canadian dollar opened at 80.32 cents, down 0.74 cent after rising 1.67 cents yesterday.</div> <bR> <div> Crude oil pulled back after the previous day's big gain, hit by the car-industry bailout failure and wider economic woes. Light sweet crude fell $3.02 to US$44.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.</div> <bR> <div> Meanwhile, Wall Street was staggered as Bernard Madoff, a financial industry power for almost half a century, was accused of "a stunning fraud that appears to be of epic proportions." Prosecutors say clients of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC could lose US$50 billion or more.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d930a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> A man looks at a stock update outside a securities firm in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Dec. 12, 2008. (AP / Junji Kurokawa)</div> <div> <IMG SRC="d931a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Money traders work under a screen indicating the U.S. dollar is traded at 89.08 yen as Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average is 8142.24 points during Friday afternoon trading, Dec. 12, 2008. (AP / Shuji Kajiyama)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 107 WIDTH="707"><div> Stock markets overseas plunged in response to the failure of the automaker rescue.</div> <bR> <div> Japan's Nikkei stock average lost 5.6 per cent. The FTSE 100 was down 3.7 per cent early in the afternoon in London, while Germany's DAX index was down 4.3 per cent and the Paris CAC-40 lost 4.7 per cent.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Canadian Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="11"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 183 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Ignatieff plans to sit down and 'listen' to Harper</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. Dec. 11 2008  07:59  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 11th, 2008</div> <div> <B>Freshly-minted Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff says Canadians have sent a clear message they want their leaders to listen to each other and co-operate -- and he plans to do just that.</B></div> <bR> <div> One day after being crowned the new party leader, Ignatieff told CTV's Canada AM one of his first orders of busines will be to sit down with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and hear him out.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d92da0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> Interim Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff speaks on Canada AM from CTV's studios in Ottawa, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 645 WIDTH="707"><div> "I think it's right for me to listen," Ignatieff said.</div> <bR> <div> "I think the Canadian people are sending us all a message that it's time for us to listen. Mr. Harper didn't listen to the opposition, he lost the confidence of the House of Commons, he's unable to govern without the confidence of the House of Commons, so it's time that he sat down."</div> <bR> <div> However, he added, "I haven't seen him do much listening so it will be interesting to see if he starts now."</div> <bR> <div> Ignatieff said he had a short congratulatory talk with Harper Wednesday night, but they haven't yet scheduled a sit-down meeting.</div> <bR> <div> On Wednesday in his inaugural news conference as leader, Ignatieff said he was willing to honour the coalition agreement forged between the Liberals and the NDP to topple the Conservatives -- unless the government comes up with a budget he can live with at the end of January.</div> <bR> <div> Earlier this month Ignatieff appeared to be lukewarm on the idea of the coalition, which requires support from the Bloc Quebecois to bring down the Tories.</div> <bR> <div> He said on Thursday the Conservatives will have to draft a budget that puts the needs of Canadians first, if they expect his support, which is essential to keeping the government alive.</div> <bR> <div> "I think what Canadians want us to do is to have a budget at the end of January that protects the most vulnerable in our society," Ignatieff said.</div> <bR> <div> "We're going to have more unemployment next year, we're going to have families really having a hard time putting food on the table and they're going to want their government to make sure they're looking after them, that's number one."</div> <bR> <div> The budget must also include stimulus for the economy that will provide a jolt to business people and entrepreneurs, Ignatieff said.</div> <bR> <div> He told CTV's Mike Duffy Live on Wednesday that Harper must also ditch his "my way or the highway" style of government.</div> <bR> <div> "You can't run a minority Parliament like this: we are fed up with it, we won't have it anymore."</div> <bR> <div> While NDP Leader Jack Layton seems intent on toppling the Tories in January no matter what, Ignatieff struck a more diplomatic tone Wednesday.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 344 WIDTH="707"><div> "Canadians can't trust us politicians if we say things like 'I'm going to vote against the budget even though I haven't seen it,'" Ignatieff said.</div> <bR> <div> "It seems to me, that (approach) treats the Canadian people with disrespect."</div> <bR> <div> <B>Grit backroom pushes for Ignatieff</B></div> <bR> <div> Ignatieff became leader after the party consulted with about 800 influential Liberals from across Canada, and follows a caucus meeting held earlier in the day in which MPs also endorsed the new leader.</div> <bR> <div> In a media release, party president Doug Ferguson said Ignatieff will take over the party's top job at a "historic" moment.</div> <bR> <div> "Our interim leader will be called upon to lead our caucus and our party through a volatile Parliament, and a possible federal election in the midst of the worst economic crisis in memory," Ferguson said Wednesday afternoon.</div> <bR> <div> During the Grit caucus meeting in Ottawa Wednesday morning, Bob Rae, who withdrew from the Liberal leadership race Tuesday, nominated Ignatieff for the leadership position.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="10"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 200 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Ignatieff to be crowned as Liberal interim leader</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. Dec. 10 2008  08:28  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 10th, 2008</div> <div> <B>Michael Ignatieff is set to become interim leader of the Liberal party today following the withdrawal of Bob Rae from the leadership race.</B></div> <bR> <div> The Liberal caucus is meeting in Ottawa and is expected to unanimously endorse Ignatieff as party leader.</div> <bR> <div> After that, the party's executive will conduct a limited consultation with members before formally endorsing Ignatieff as interim leader.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d92aa0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Liberal MPs Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae arrive for an event on Parliament Hill in Ottaw, on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008. (Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 760 WIDTH="707"><div> "Inside the party I think there's a good feeling about Mr. Ignatieff," CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife said Wednesday. "It's going to be a level playing field now between the Liberals and Mr. Harper."</div> <bR> <div> Ignatieff will be named as permanent leader at the Liberal convention in Vancouver next May.</div> <bR> <div> On Monday, Liberal Leader Stephane Dion said he would resign as soon as his successor was picked.</div> <bR> <div> Then, on Tuesday, Rae backed out of the race after recognizing Ignatieff was the clear frontrunner.</div> <bR> <div> "He simply could not win," Fife said.</div> <bR> <div> Rae said the party must have a leader in place to be ready for a potential parliamentary showdown in the House of Commons, when the Tories introduce their budget on Jan. 27.</div> <bR> <div> If the opposition parties vote down the budget, the Tories will fall and a Liberal-NDP coalition government could take power. </div> <div> To avoid that, Harper has been reaching out to Ignatieff to try and find common ground.</div> <bR> <div> But former deputy prime minister Sheila Copps said since Ignatieff has shown support for the coalition he'll have to follow through with it or ensure the Tories make concessions in the budget.</div> <bR> <div> "What Ignatieff has now is leverage to force the Conservatives to put something substantive on the table because he does have the coalition and he has signed on to the coalition with the unanimous support of the Liberal caucus," Copps told CTV's Canada AM on Wednesday.</div> <bR> <div> Ignatieff, a former Harvard professor, switched to politics in 2005 and is an MP for Etobicoke- Lakeshore.</div> <bR> <div> Fife said Ignatieff is a real "game-changer" and the Tories are worried about him.</div> <bR> <div> "He's an international scholar, international well-known journalist, he's smart and he has around him hard-nosed political operatives who know how to play the game of politics," Fife said.</div> <bR> <div> Meanwhile, the Tories are wasting no time attacking Ignatieff, saying the Liberals want to parachute him into the role of prime minister.</div> <bR> <div> In a fundraising letter, the chair of the Tory national campaign says Ignatieff would become the head of a proposed coalition government if the Conservatives are defeated.</div> <bR> <div> "Not only was the Liberal/NDP/Bloc coalition not elected to govern this country," writes Doug Finley, "but the person who would become Canada's prime minister wasn't even the leader of a federal party during the last election and may not even be elected by the Liberal (or any) party's membership."</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Canadian Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="09"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 417 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Palin urges Obama to seek closer ties with Canada</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Dec. 09 2008  07:20  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 9th, 2008</div> <div> <B>Just a few days after signing a historic agreement that will see a Canadian company build a massive pipeline to flow natural gas from Alaska to Alberta, Gov. Sarah Palin says she is working to strengthen relations with Canada, and Barack Obama should too.</B></div> <bR> <div> Palin, who recently lost her vice-presidential bid on a shared ticket with presidential candidate John McCain, spoke to CTV's Canada AM from Fairbanks, Alaska, just after signing the deal with TransCanada pipeline.</div> <bR> <div> She suggested the contract is an example of cross-border co-operation that Democratic president-elect Barack Obama can learn from.</div> <bR> <div> "I want to grow the relationship we have with Canada," Palin said.</div> <bR> <div> "I know Alaska is doing all we can to grow that relationship and we've gotta have faith that the newly elected administration will see the light on that and work very hard to increase and strengthen the relationship between our two countries."</div> <bR> <div> She said Alaskans and Canadians have much in common, from a shared love of hockey to an appreciation for the outdoors, hunting and fishing.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d928a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks with CTV's Canada AM during an interview in Fairbanks, Alaska.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="d929a0c80.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="200" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> This map, courtesy of TransCanada, shows the planned route the pipeline will follow.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 501 WIDTH="707"><div> The 44-year-old self-described "hockey mom" stole headlines during the U.S. presidential campaign with her unpolished, shoot-from-the-hip style, her teenage daughter's pregnancy and claims that she and her family's racked up massive clothing bills.</div> <bR> <div> Her announcement as John McCain's running mate also reinvigorated and energized a campaign that was lagging in the polls.</div> <bR> <div> Palin predicted the newly signed 2,700-kilometre pipeline project will boost U.S. domestic energy supply by 7 per cent and reduce U.S. dependency on foreign oil sources.</div> <bR> <div> "This has been long hoped for, prayed about, wished for, for really about 50 years here in Alaska," Palin said.</div> <bR> <div> She said Alaska has vast reserves of oil and natural gas that are virtually being "warehoused" at the moment.</div> <bR> <div> "It's time to tap those, throw them into our own hungry markets so we can be less reliant on foreign sources and less beholden to some regimes that control energy that we import. Some of those regimes don't like America," she said.</div> <bR> <div> Though the Republican and Democrat camps traded barbs during the race, Palin struck a hopeful, conciliatory tone when discussing the change in the White House. She met Obama just a few days ago, along with other U.S. governors and said the tone was "respectful."</div> <bR> <div> "President-elect Obama is surrounding himself with good people and we're very optimistic we're going to get our economy back on the right track."</div> <bR> <div> Palin said she hopes that correction in the U.S. economy will come through tax cuts to boost small businesses and give families more spending money, which will in turn buoy the economy.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Obama was 'wrong'</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 397 WIDTH="707"><div> However, Palin was less agreeable when discussing the suggestion from the Obama team during the campaign that he would make changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement.</div> <bR> <div> "I think he was wrong to send a message that he would unilaterally want to go in and renegotiate," Palin said.</div> <bR> <div> "I do not support that, but I think...he's going to see some conditions that will allow him to temper his position even on that."</div> <bR> <div> NAFTA, she said, has resulted in jobs in both the U.S. and Canada, and must be protected in order to keep both countries' economies "revving."</div> <bR> <div> Palin said she agrees with Obama's choice of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, saying she was surprised he hadn't chosen the former first lady as his vice-presidential running mate during the campaign.</div> <bR> <div> As for her own political future, Palin was less clear, saying "some days politics make me roll my eyes" and "it's certainly not the be-all, end-all," she added.</div> <bR> <div> "If there are platforms, opportunities for me to be able to effect positive change in people's lives, whether that's political or another venue I will embrace that," she said.</div> <bR> <div> "But I don't know if it's going to be in politics or running for president in '12."</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="08"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 210 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>World markets surge on global stimulus hopes</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. Dec. 08 2008  07:58  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 8th, 2008</div> <div> <B>World markets surged Monday as investors expressed confidence in new plans by both the U.S. and China to promote growth through major spending initiatives.</B></div> <bR> <div> In trading Monday, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 168.70 points, or 4.2 per cent, at 4,218.07.</div> <bR> <div> Meanwhile, Germany's DAX was up 242.97 points, or 5.6 per cent, at 4,624.44 while the CAC-40 in France rose 174.33 points, or 5.8 per cent, to 3,162.34.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d921a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> South Korean journalists cover stock market in front of a giant electronic stock board at the Korea Stock Exchange in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Dec. 8, 2008. (AP / Ahn Young-joon)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 592 WIDTH="707"><div> Earlier in the trading day, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index surged 1,198.78 points, or 8.7 per cent, to 15,044.87 -- its highest close in nearly two months.</div> <bR> <div> In Japan, the Nikkei 225 average jumped 411.54 points, or 5.2 per cent, to 8,329.05.</div> <bR> <div> On Wall Street, Dow futures were up 181 points, or 2.1 per cent, at 8,793 and S&P futures were up 22.40 points, or 2.6 per cent, at 894.80.</div> <bR> <div> "The stocks have been taken down more than they should have so there are some buying opportunities, some bargains for people who want to invest for the long term," BNN's Michael Kane told CTV's Canada AM on Monday.</div> <bR> <div> Investors were also reacting positively after U.S. President-elect Barack Obama announced a major U.S. public works spending program over the weekend -- the largest since the interstate highway system was built more than 50 years ago.</div> <bR> <div> "We've got to provide a blood infusion to the patient right now to make sure that the patient is stabilized. And that means that we can't worry short term about the deficit. We've got to make sure that the economic stimulus plan is large enough to get the economy moving," Obama said during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday.</div> <bR> <div> Meanwhile, it appears U.S. automakers will receive billions in bailout cash within the next week.</div> <bR> <div> Adding to investor confidence, Chinese officials are reportedly meeting this week to talk about expanding their US$586 billion stimulus package.</div> <bR> <div> India's government also took steps to bolster its economy Sunday, announcing $4 billion in new spending and tax cuts.</div> <bR> <div> "The hour is darkest before the dawn and while the economic backdrop is absolutely dire, policy makers have now moved to an aggressively accommodative stance," Jeremy Batstone-Carr, head of research at Charles Stanley in London, said Monday.</div> <bR> <div> On Tuesday, it is widely anticipated that the Bank of Canada will again cut its key interest rate by at least half a point to 1.75 per cent.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Associated Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="07"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 336 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Man convicted of murder in Jane Creba shooting</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. Dec. 07 2008  13:13  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 7th, 2008</div> <div> <B>A Toronto jury has found the first person to face trial in the Boxing Day shooting death of Jane Creba guilty of second-degree murder.</B></div> <bR> <div> The man, who can only be identified as J.S.R because he was a minor at the time of the shooting, was convicted Sunday by a panel of 11 jurists.</div> <bR> <div> J.S.R, now 20 years old, has also been found guilty of two counts of aggravated assault and five weapons charges. He was found not guilty of an additional four counts of aggravated assault.</div> <bR> <div> The charges stem from a brief gunfight between two groups of young men on Dec. 26, 2005 in front of a Foot Locker store on Yonge Street, in the city's busy downtown core.</div> <bR> <div> Since the trial began on October 16, the jury heard that J.S.R. was stopped by police at a subway station blocks from the shooting scene 40 minutes after the gunfight. A police officer testified that J.S.R. was in possession of a 9mm Ruger semi-automatic handgun.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d91ca0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Jane Creba, 15, was shot and killed while shopping in Toronto on Boxing Day in 2005.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="d91ea0690.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="105" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The man known only as J.S.R. because of his age at the time Creba's death, is seen in an undated court sketch.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 323 WIDTH="707"><div> Further testimony proved the gun was forensically linked to the scene but the Crown did not accuse J.S.R. of firing the shot that killed Creba.</div> <bR> <div> However, under Canadian law, if the jury is convinced the accused took part in the gunfight, he or she can still be convicted of murder.</div> <bR> <div> The defence, which chose not to present evidence, argued that J.S.R. was at the scene of the shooting but did not fire any shots.</div> <bR> <div> Creba, a 15-year-old innocent bystander who was in the area shopping with her family, was the only fatality in the shooting spree. Six other bystanders were shot, the court heard.</div> <bR> <div> The jury started deliberations Thursday at 11:30 a.m. and came back Friday night to ask Justice Ian Nordheimer a question about the case. They resumed deliberations Saturday and delivered their verdict Sunday shortly after noon.</div> <bR> <div> <I>More to come...</I></div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from ctvtoronto.ca</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="06"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 406 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Dion says Harper 'wasted time on partisan games'</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. Dec. 06 2008  13:12  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 6th, 2008</div> <div> <B>Canada's federal Liberal and NDP leaders addressed a pro-coalition rally in Toronto on Saturday afternoon, bashing the prime minister's decision to prorogue Parliament, while 200 protesters at a Halifax anti-coalition event held placards urging politicians to respect their votes.</B></div> <bR> <div> Liberal Leader Stephane Dion told the pro-coalition crowd at Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square that Canada urgently needs a plan to help the country's economy.</div> <bR> <div> "We want to help our country to fight the economic crisis that is coming, and for that we need to pull together," he said Saturday afternoon.</div> <bR> <div> He also said Prime Minister Stephen Harper had "wasted time on partisan games and locked the doors of Parliament."</div> <bR> <div> NDP Leader Jack Layton followed Dion on the same stage, saying that the prime minister had put "a padlock on Parliament Hill" and was "desperately clinging to power."</div> <bR> <div> "By closing down Parliament, he has silenced your voice," Layton said. "He has turned his back on the economy and on the people who are being thrown out of work."</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d918a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Liberal Leader Stephane Dion addresses supporters at a rally in Toronto, as NDP Leader Jack Layton stands to Dion's left on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="d919a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> People wave signs during a rally in support of a Liberal and NDP coalition federal government in Vancouver, B.C. on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / Darryl Dyck)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 604 WIDTH="540"><div> Layton criticized Harper for delivering "an ideological plan" in the government's fiscal update, when Canadians needed the prime minister to look after their best interests.</div> <bR> <div> In Halifax, just over 200 people showed up to the anti-coalition rally on Saturday.</div> <bR> <div> Protesters held placards urging federal politicians to respect their votes, using slogans like "My Vote Counts," "No Secret Deals" and "Respect Our Votes" to convey their message.</div> <bR> <div> Conservative MP Gerry Keddy, who was present at the Halifax rally, called on the coalition to give "its head a shake."</div> <bR> <div> Events either backing or protesting the possible coalition government are being held across Canada today, despite the fact Harper's minority government is safe until at least the end of January.</div> <bR> <div> All of the protests began at noon ET on Saturday, including about 20 organized by Canadians for Democracy, which opposes the proposed Liberal-NDP-Bloc Quebecois coalition.</div> <bR> <div> On its website, rallyforcanada.ca, the group accuses the NDP and Liberals of getting into bed with separatists and warns that the threat of a coalition taking power will resume once Parliament returns on Jan. 26.</div> <bR> <div> "Let's rally to show the proposed coalition that this isn't a good option," reads a message on the website.</div> <bR> <div> The Canadian Labour Congress, which supports the coalition, is holding a rally in Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square, as well as rallies in Montreal and Sudbury, Ont.</div> <bR> <div> A radio ad that also appears on the CLC's website encourages supporters to attend Saturday's rallies by slamming Harper's inability to work with the opposition parties to devise solutions for a sluggish economy.</div> <bR> <div> "During the election, Stephen Harper told us he would make a minority Parliament work and put our economy first. He has failed."</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d91aa0380.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="312" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> A protester holds up a drawing of Liberal Leader Stephane Dion stylized as Stalin during an anti-coalition rally on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Thursday Dec. 4, 2008. (Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS)</div> <div> <IMG SRC="d91ba0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> NDP Leader Jack Layton talks to coalition supporters at a rally in Toronto on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 269 WIDTH="707"><div> The rallies come at the end of a whirlwind week in Ottawa, as the three opposition parties threatened to overthrow Harper's Conservative minority and take power after a confidence vote that had been scheduled for Monday.</div> <bR> <div> The move was largely a response to last week's economic update, delivered by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, which withdrew public funding for the federal parties and failed to include details of an economic stimulus package.</div> <bR> <div> Harper responded by asking Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean to prorogue Parliament. That gives him until Jan. 26 to prepare a budget that will contain a plan for stimulating the economy. Jean agreed and Harper will now present a budget on Jan. 27.</div> <bR> <div> He has said he would like input from the opposition parties as he prepares his economic plan.</div> <bR> <div> Saturday's rallies follow a series of pro-coalition protests Thursday, including one on Parliament Hill that drew about 2,000 supporters.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Canadian Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="05"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 183 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Huge job losses in Ont. push up unemployment rate</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. Dec. 05 2008  08:35  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 5th, 2008</div> <div> <B>Canada's employment numbers fell by more than 70,000 in November, pushing the unemployment rate to 6.3 per cent.</B></div> <bR> <div> The biggest drop in jobs was in Ontario, which lost a stunning 66,000 of the 71,000 jobs, according to Statistics Canada. The job losses were nearly evenly split between full- and part-time jobs.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d917a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Most of the jobs were lost in the Ontario, and the battered manufacturing sector chopped 38,300 workers.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 683 WIDTH="707"><div> "In November, the employment declines were concentrated in Ontario (-66,000), where there was a large drop in full-time work. Nova Scotia (-4,400) also experienced a decline in November, while employment remained relatively stable in the other provinces," a StatsCan press release said.</div> <bR> <div> According to Statistics Canada:</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The manufacturing sector was hard hit in November, with a net employment drop of 38,000.</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The November numbers brought manufacturing declines to 388,000 since the peak in 2002.</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">In Ontario, the employment declines in this sector totalled 42,000 in November.</div> <bR> <div> "Following gains in October associated with hiring for the federal election, employment in public administration fell by 27,000 in November," said the Statistics Canada release.</div> <bR> <div> The November statistics cut into the total number of jobs created so far this year. The accumulated gain is at 133,000, well below last year's 361,000 January-through-November numbers. Ontario's job losses were mostly due to the beleaguered manufacturing sector, which lost 42,000 jobs.</div> <bR> <div> About 27,000 people were also laid off in the public administration sector, which had temporarily hired workers for the Oct. 14 federal election.</div> <bR> <div> <B>U.S. unemployment</B></div> <bR> <div> Economists aren't expecting good news from the U.S. employment numbers, either. After jumping to a 14-year high of 6.5 per cent in October economists say:</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The U.S. unemployment rate likely climbed to 6.8 per cent last month.</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">That would mark the worst showing in 15 years.</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Employers who have already cut 1.2 million jobs this year, probably slashed 320,000 more last month.</div> <bR> <div> If the estimates are correct, the numbers would highlight the biggest cut in monthly payrolls since the October of 2001, just after the terrorist strikes in the U.S.</div> <bR> <div> The recent economic slowdown has hit a wide variety of industries and companies in the U.S., including AT&T Inc., DuPont, and JPMorgan Chase. Jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney and mining company Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. also announced layoffs.</div> <bR> <div> The auto sector is also slashing jobs, as the heads of the "Detroit Three" head back to Capitol Hill today looking for a multi-billion industry bailout.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="04"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 163 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Don't let Harper 'duck a confidence vote:' former GG</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. Dec. 04 2008  08:17  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 4th, 2008</div> <div> <B>The former governor general who presided over the downfall of the Joe Clark government in 1980 says Governor General Michaelle Jean must not let Prime Minister Stephen Harper "duck a confidence vote."</B></div> <bR> <div> Ed Schreyer told CTV's Canada AM in an interview aired Thursday morning, just hours before Harper is expected to head to Rideau Hall to meet with Jean, that a government must have the</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d911a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Former governor general Ed Schreyer.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 505 WIDTH="707"><div> confidence of the House in a parliamentary democracy.</div> <bR> <div> The Tories have not said what Harper's meeting will be about, but political analysts and reporters on Parliament Hill have said they expect the prime minister to ask for a prorogation. If granted, the prorogation would end the current session of Parliament before an expected confidence vote on Monday, one Harper would likely lose.</div> <bR> <div> "Any group that presumes to govern must be willing to face and seek the confidence of Parliament, and it mustn't be evaded and it mustn't be long avoided. I can't put it any more succinctly than that," Schreyer said.</div> <bR> <div> Schreyer then hammered home his point even more clearly and in no uncertain terms.</div> <bR> <div> "I must come back to your use of the words, 'to duck a confidence vote,'" he said responding to a question.</div> <bR> <div> "That must simply not be allowed to happen."</div> <bR> <div> Schreyer has said that Parliament could take a short break over the holidays, but not solely to allow the Harper government avoid a confidence vote.</div> <bR> <div> Schreyer, a former premier of Manitoba who ran federally for the NDP in 2006, was the governor general when former Progressive Conservative prime minister Joe Clark's government was defeated in a confidence vote in 1980.</div> <bR> <div> He said the Office of the Governor General will make decisions based on procedures, traditions and the law. He added that he had and maintains a very high regard for Clark, but he did not immediately grant his request to dissolve Parliament.</div> <bR> <div> "In the event that an alternative group was willing to come forward to form government, I would have felt obliged to grant a commission to form such a government," he said.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="03"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 250 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>GG arriving home; Tories unleash new attack ads</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. Dec. 03 2008  07:46  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 3rd, 2008</div> <div> <B>Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean is arriving home from Europe today to deal with the political crisis that has deeply divided the country among those who support the government, and those who back an NDP-Liberal coalition supported by the Bloc Quebecois.</B></div> <bR> <div> It is expected that some time in the next few days Prime Minister Stephen Harper will ask Jean to prorogue Parliament in order to prevent a non-confidence vote on Monday that could defeat the government.</div> <bR> <div> If the non-confidence vote takes place and the government falls, the coalition could then ask Jean for the opportunity to win the confidence of the House of Commons, and could take over as government without an election.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d910a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Gov.-Gen. Michaelle Jean looks on during a joint statement with President Danilo Turk of Slovenia, not in picture, in Brdo, Slovenia, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008. Jean is travelling back to Canada today. (AP Photo)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 716 WIDTH="707"><div> It is widely believed Harper will try to prorogue Parliament first, shutting down the House of Commons until January.</div> <bR> <div> Meanwhile, the Conservatives have launched an all-out war, following up Tuesday radio ads with scathing television ads on Wednesday.</div> <bR> <div> In one of the ads a black-and-white image of Liberal Leader Stephane Dion -- who would take over as prime minister under the coalition's plan -- is shown while a female voice repeats a central Conservative message that accuses Dion of a power grab.</div> <bR> <div> "In the last election just a few weeks ago Canadians overwhelmingly said 'no' to Stephane Dion as prime minister. Now just a few weeks later Stephane Dion is trying to overturn the election he lost and take power through the back door."</div> <bR> <div> The ad then warns that Dion has given too much power to the Bloc, which would support the coalition but remain outside of government.</div> <bR> <div> "Stephane Dion and the separatist Bloc. Shouldn't you get to decide?" the ad asks.</div> <bR> <div> Meanwhile, a University of Toronto political scientist said it isn't clear whether Jean will grant Harper's expected request to prorogue parliament.</div> <bR> <div> There have been questions about whether Jean actually has the power to deny the request, but professor Peter Russell said while it is "murky territory," Jean has discretion on the matter.</div> <bR> <div> "I don't think the Governor General is simply a rubber stamp that must do anything the prime minister wants," he told CTV's Canada AM.</div> <bR> <div> "That would make her position as a protector of parliamentary democracy irrelevant and nonsensical if she's there to guard against the abuse of power."</div> <bR> <div> Nelson Wiseman, another U of T political scientist, said while Jean has discretion, it would be "unprecedented" for her to turn Harper's request down. But it is also unprecedented for a prime minister to seek to prorogue Parliament so soon after an election, he said.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Fever pitch</B></div> <bR> <div> The political showdown in Ottawa reached a fever pitch in Parliament Tuesday as Harper accused his foes of "betraying" voters while the opposition said the Tories have been misleading the country with doublespeak.</div> <bR> <div> During a fiery question period session, where MPs hurled accusations and openly shouted at each other across the benches, Harper said that the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois want to "scrap" the results of the last election.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 435 WIDTH="707"><div> Harper also accused Dion of trying to use "parliamentary niceties" to grab power and become prime minister.</div> <bR> <div> "If you want to be prime minister, you get your mandate from the Canadian people, not from the separatists," he said.</div> <bR> <div> The prime minister is also expected to address Canadians in a televised address some time this week.</div> <bR> <div> Dion fired back in Parliament and said the Tories were in a holding pattern and simply prolonging their eventual defeat.</div> <bR> <div> "The prime minister failed," said Dion, pushing for a confidence vote. "If he was a democrat, he would allow this House to show how much he failed."</div> <bR> <div> Dion also said the Conservatives have been blatantly contradicting themselves by saying one thing in English and another in French.</div> <bR> <div> "He's saying that we Liberals are selling Canada to the separatists, and his Quebec MPs are saying that the separatists are selling their soul to the Liberals! He needs to choose between these two lies," Dion said.</div> <bR> <div> NDP Leader Jack Layton, meanwhile, said that Harper himself was prepared to form a government with the Bloc four years ago is making the accusations in order to slander his political opponents.</div> <bR> <div> "He's making them now in order to try and turn Canadians against the kind of economic action they so desperately want to see," said Layton. "We're going to talk to Canadians and tell them the truth about what's happening here."</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Canadian Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="02"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 125 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>TSX index adds to Monday's loss</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Dec. 02 2008  11:38  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 2nd, 2008</div> <div> <B>TORONTO -- The Toronto Stock Exchange was deep in the red late Tuesday morning with buyers largely uninterested in wading back into the market a day after one of the worst declines on record.</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="d90da0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 697 WIDTH="707"><div> But New York indexes made impressive headway, reviving from Monday's big losses triggered by growing worries about the American economy, including a report indicating the United States has been in recession for a year.</div> <bR> <div> Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index lost tentative early gains and was down 96.9 points to 8,309.3 -- after plunging 864 points or 9.3 per cent Monday. That was the Toronto market's worst one-day drop since the October 1987 crash, erasing more than half of last week's 14 per cent gain.</div> <bR> <div> "I really feel (these huge swings) are a negative for the overall equity market," said Ian Nakamoto, director of research at MacDougall, MacDougall and MacTier.</div> <bR> <div> "John Q. Public looks at something like that, up 14 per cent Friday, down nine per cent Monday -- it's like they feel it's a rigged market. It's human nature. It's bad for the equity markets longer term -- it turns people right off."</div> <bR> <div> The Canadian dollar was off 0.03 cent to 80.28 cents US, against a background of political tumult in Ottawa, where the Liberals and NDP say they're ready to govern in a coalition with Bloc Quebecois support, while the minority Conservatives look for a way to retain power.</div> <bR> <div> However, analysts note that the uncertainty is likely not to blame for the weak performance on the TSX.</div> <bR> <div> "I don't think people are selling Manulife because of what's going on in Ottawa and they're not buying EnCana because of what's going on in Ottawa," said Nakamoto.</div> <bR> <div> "You could even argue we will have more fiscal stimulus which is good at this point in time -- you can spin it either way." </div> <div> The TSX Venture Exchange headed up 1.04 points to 740.16.</div> <bR> <div> New York's Dow Jones industrial average gained 150.1 points to 8,299.2 after dropping 7.7 per cent Monday.</div> <bR> <div> The Nasdaq composite index advanced 28.85 points to 1,426.92, while the S&P 500 index gained 17.2 points to 833.4.</div> <bR> <div> Canadian investors are marking the passing of Ted Rogers, creator of the country's largest cable-TV and cellphone operator with other interests ranging from Citytv to Maclean's magazine to the Toronto Blue Jays. Rogers shares were off 31 cents to $34.21.</div> <bR> <div> U.S. investor sentiment was helped along by calming words from Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally, who said his company has enough cash to make it through 2009 and may not need government help. Mulally's comments came as Ford, General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC were scheduled to submit to Congress plans for remaking themselves; lawmakers demanded those plans before considering whether to give the automakers US$25 billion in government support.</div> <bR> <div> GM shares rose 26 cents to US$4.85 while Ford added 29 cents to US$2.83.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 625 WIDTH="707"><div> In Canada, the federal and Ontario governments have appointed a special advisor on the auto crisis and restructuring plans. Jim Arnett is a former president of Molson Inc., and recently served as special advisor to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty on the steel industry, including the restructuring of Stelco Inc.</div> <bR> <div> TSX financials were down almost two per cent as Manulife Financial Corp. (TSX:MFC) announced it is issuing $2.125 billion in new common shares, and expects to report a $1.5-billion fourth-quarter loss because of annuity provisions.</div> <bR> <div> The new stock is priced at $19.40 per share, and Manulife traded down 75 cents to $19.71, with a 52-week range between $42.14 and $16.28.</div> <bR> <div> Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX:BNS) was down 86 cents to $33.99 ahead of its quarterly earnings report later in the session.</div> <bR> <div> The TSX energy sector, pounded by a 13 per cent slide Monday as crude oil tumbled US$5.15 a barrel, was down 1.25 per cent Tuesday morning. The January crude contract edged 48 cents lower US$48.80 a barrel after going as low as $47.36 overnight. Suncor Energy Corp. (TSX:SU) was down 65 cents to $23.25 on the TSX.</div> <bR> <div> The gold sector was up by more than four per cent as bullion in New York gained $3.10 to US$779.90 an ounce. Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) moved ahead $1.36 to $34.01.</div> <bR> <div> Techs were also a major drag with Research In Motion Ltd. (TSX:RIM) down $4.17 to $46.04.</div> <bR> <div> Sierra Wireless Inc. (TSX:SW) is bidding 218 million euros -- C$345 million -- for Wavecom S.A., a French provider of machine-to-machine wireless technology. Sierra shares fell 74 cents to $8.94.</div> <bR> <div> In U.S. corporate news, General Electric Co. said fourth-quarter earnings will be near the low end of its previous guidance. The industrial, finance and media conglomerate also said it will take a charge of up to $1.4 billion because of the difficult credit markets. GE shares were ahead $1.44 to US$16.94.</div> <bR> <div> Asian markets carried through on Wall Street's slide, with Tokyo's Nikkei index closing down 6.4 per cent and the Hong Kong Hang Seng losing five per cent.</div> <bR> <div> London's FTSE 100 index edged 0.8 per cent higher, while the German DAX is up 3.35 per cent and the French CAC-40 advanced 1.7 per cent.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Canadian Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="01"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 449 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Coalition would be guided by all-star economic council</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. Dec. 01 2008  09:30  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: December 1st, 2008</div> <div> <B>A high-profile, four-person economic council would guide a Liberal-NDP coalition government on finance matters, CTV News has learned.</B></div> <bR> <div> CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife reported Monday that the council would comprise Frank McKenna, Paul Martin, John Manley and Roy Romanow.</div> <bR> <div> "This is a way to assure Canadians the economy would be managed properly," Fife told CTV Newsnet.</div> <bR> <div> The panel of "wise men" would help the new government navigate the current global economic turbulence, he said.</div> <bR> <div> The list includes three Liberals and one New Democrat, though none currently hold elected office.</div> <bR> <div> McKenna is a former Liberal premier of New Brunswick and ambassador to the U.S., Martin is a former Liberal finance minister and prime minister, Manley is a former Liberal finance minister and foreign affairs minister, and Romanow is a former New Democrat premier of Saskatchewan</div> <bR> <div> The current political storm erupted last week after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty unveiled his economic update -- a blueprint that contained no stimulus package, temporarily shut down public servants' ability to strike and outlined plans to slash public funding for political parties.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d900a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Former prime minister Paul Martin, right, and former deputy prime minister John Manley in Charlottetown on Saturday, May 24, 2003. (Andrew Vaughan / THE CANADIAN PRESS)</div> <div> <IMG SRC="d901a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Former New Democratic Party leader Ed Broadbent chats with current leader Jack Layton, right, as they leave his office on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Friday, Nov. 28, 2008. (Tom Hanson / THE CANADIAN PRESS)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 365 WIDTH="540"><div> As a confidence motion the fiscal update must pass in the House of Commons or the government would fall.</div> <bR> <div> Almost immediately after Flaherty's announcement, opposition parties began meeting to discuss forming a coalition.</div> <bR> <div> Fife reported earlier Mondat that the cabinet formed under the coalition would include both Liberal and NDP ministers. The Liberals would take 18 cabinet seats, while the NDP would get six.</div> <bR> <div> Fife also reported that the coalition government would introduce a $30-billion economic stimulus package and roll back $50 billion in planned corporate tax cuts.</div> <bR> <div> He said that an adviser to NDP Leader Jack Layton informed the party caucus of the plans on Sunday. The conversation was taped by Conservatives.</div> <bR> <div> "The big deal is this new coalition would spend $30 billion in economic stimulus and to help pay for it they would roll back $50 billion of corporate income tax cuts," Fife told Canada AM.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tape suggests dissention</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="d902a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Liberal leadership candidate Bob Rae speaks on Canada AM from CTV's studios in Ottawa, Monday, Dec. 1, 2008.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="d903a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Liberal leadership candidate Michael Ignatieff speaks with CTV's Question Period on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2008.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 629 WIDTH="707"><div> The tape also reveals some dissension among New Democrats on the notion of forming a coalition.</div> <bR> <div> MP Charlie Angus can be heard saying that NDP efforts to win over the Liberals, rather than the public, are "insane" and "disastrous."</div> <bR> <div> Layton then responds by saying that in order to win over the Liberals, the NDP needs to create public support and that "it's the Liberals that have all the nervousness and could screw this up."</div> <bR> <div> Layton goes on to call the current situation a "game of chicken." If it doesn't result in a coalition, Layton says, there are only two other options: either the NDP will have to help support the Conservatives, or there will be another election, less than two months after Canadians went to the polls.</div> <bR> <div> "And that's the game of chicken that we're trying to get out of, by a much more hopeful alternative," Layton says.</div> <bR> <div> New Democrat MP Peter Julian also weighs in on the tape, saying the party must be prepared to drop the deal if it starts to go south.</div> <bR> <div> "If we don't think this is going to be solid, if we don't think we're going to be able to attain our objectives, the cost of walking away is far, far smaller than the ultimate cost in the long term," Julian says.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Weekend negotiations</B></div> <bR> <div> The Liberals, NDP and Bloc were negotiating furiously over the weekend to try to come up with a plan, as the Conservatives desperately tried to stave off defeat.</div> <bR> <div> Liberal leadership candidate Bob Rae brought together his main opponents Michael Ignatieff and Dominic LeBlanc for a dinner meeting Sunday night in an attempt to form a common front.</div> <bR> <div> Rae was trying to convince his rivals to support outgoing Liberal Leader Stephane Dion's bid for a coalition. Under that plan, Dion would head the new party until a Liberal leadership convention scheduled for May in Vancouver.</div> <bR> <div> He said there was no talk of which of the three candidates would eventually become prime minister, contrary to some reports.</div> <bR> <div> "There was no discussion of that, that was not at all decided and that was not asked for," Rae told Canada AM.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 376 WIDTH="707"><div> "Nobody was being asked to do that, so like a lot of things you read in the newspaper that happens to be untrue... what was really discussed was how do we create the unity that's needed, how do we create the discipline that's necessary to ensure we succeed."</div> <bR> <div> According to reports, Ignatieff was not sold on the idea of a coalition before heading into the talks. It's not clear whether Rae managed to bring him on board.</div> <bR> <div> <B>'Power grab'</B></div> <bR> <div> Conservative Transport Minister John Baird slammed the opposition's moves as nothing more than a back-door power grab.</div> <bR> <div> "I think this is all about the opposition wanting to take power without an election," Baird told Canada AM. "They don't want to earn the right to govern they just want to take it."</div> <bR> <div> He said it is "insane" that the Liberal party, which received it's poorest showing since Confederation in the last election, could end up in government.</div> <bR> <div> He said the Conservatives wanted to "lead by example" with their plan to cut political party funding, and are disappointed with the opposition parties for not following suit.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff </div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>