  Past Articles:
These "Articles" are dated from February 1st, 2005 - February 28th, 2005.
 Gomery inquiry to hear from ad execs |
28/02/05
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Saddam's half-brother captured in Iraq
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27/02/05
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Japan confirms 15th case of mad cow disease
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26/02/05
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Pope breathing on his own after tranquil night
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25/02/05
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Goodale budget delivers billions in new spending and tax cuts
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24/02/05
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Budget to include billions for military, environment
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23/02/05
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NATO offers training for Iraqi military
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22/02/05
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Bush to call on European support for Iraq
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21/02/05
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Marines, Iraqi forces surround Ramadi
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20/02/05
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U.S. committee OKs all 3 arthritis drugs
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19/02/05
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Cosby will not face charges
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18/02/05
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Crown to retry 'Johnathan' case
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17/02/05
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Kyoto Protocol comes into effect
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16/02/05
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NHL players blink on salary cap
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15/02/05
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PM to sign landmark offshore revenue deal
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14/02/05
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Iraq releases election results
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13/02/05
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Hundreds missing after dam bursts in Pakistan
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12/02/05
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Plan would shift thousands of federal civil servants
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11/02/05
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Martin's turn to testify on sponsorship
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10/02/05
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Edmonton police chief fired
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09/02/05
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Chrétien set to testify at sponsorship probe
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08/02/05
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Remains found at Afghan plane wreckage
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07/02/05
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Weather slows recovery of Afghan plane wreckage
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06/02/05
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Afghan plane wreckage found
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05/02/05
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Attack on Iran not planned 'at this point': Rice
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04/02/05
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Pope's condition improving: Vatican
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03/02/05
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Sgro accuser to be deported to India
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02/02/05
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Same-sex legislation heading to House of Commons
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01/02/05
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Gomery inquiry to hear from ad execs
Web Posted | Last Updated Mon, 28 Feb 2005 07:40:53 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 28th, 2005
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MONTREAL - Prominent Quebec advertising executives and their employees will get a chance to defend their role in the sponsorship program when the Gomery inquiry resumes Monday.
A 2003 audit showed that Liberal-friendly advertising firms billed the federal government $100 million for services tied to promoting Canada inside Quebec.
The audit also showed that some firms were paid for services not rendered and that ad executives pocketed about 40 per cent of the sponsorship dollars between 1997 and 2003.
The audit showed that $100 million was paid to a variety of communications agencies in the form of fees and commissions. It also found that some of the contracts were awarded without being placed through a competitive process.
In past testimony before the parliamentary public accounts committee, Gilles-André Gosselin of Gosselin Communication was asked how his firm accumulated 3,600 billable hours in one year alone.
He replied, "Is there a law in Canada that prevents someone from working seven days a week?"
Lafleur up first
Hundreds of subpoenas have been issued to potential witnesses.
Running nearly 20 pages long, the subpoenas demand every conceivable document that could establish a money trail: bank account statements, income tax returns from 10 years back, and phone records linked to hundreds of companies and Quebec ad executives.
Some former Quebec ad company employees were still receiving inquiry subpoenas on Friday.
The first major witness to take the stand Monday will be Jean Lafleur, former head of Lafleur Communication Marketing.
Lafleur's company received more than $30 million in sponsorship contracts.
This phase of the inquiry is to last 10 weeks.
Three ad executives and the ex-bureaucrat who ran the program are facing criminal charges.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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Saddam's half-brother captured in Iraq
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun, 27 Feb 2005 11:11:06 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 27th, 2005
BAGHDAD - Security forces in Iraq have captured a key member of Saddam Hussein's regime, the former dicator's half-brother.
U.S. officials allege Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hasan al-Tikriti was helping to finance the insurgency in Iraq.
Ibrahim was No. 36 on the U.S. military's list of the 55 most wanted people in Iraq. He is also accused of torturing and killing politicians who opposed Saddam.
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Washington had put a $1 million bounty on his capture.
Ibrahim is the first top-level Baath Party member to be detained in more than a year.
His brothers, Watban and Barzan, are already in custody. Only about 10 people on the most wanted list remain at large, including Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, considered Saddam's most trusted confidant.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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Japan confirms 15th case of mad cow disease
Web Posted | Last Updated Sat, 26 Feb 2005 10:02:37 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 25th, 2005
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TOKYO - Japan has confirmed its fifteenth case of mad cow disease, the government said Saturday.
The Holstein cow from a ranch in Hobetsu, in northern Hokkaido state, was dead when it was brought in for testing earlier this week.
The Agriculture Ministry said in a statement that tests had confirmed the disease in the eight-year-old animal.
On Feb. 4, Japan reported its first case of the human variant of mad cow disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, after a man died.
Japanese health officials said he likely contracted the disease while living in Britain, where it first surfaced.
The neurodegenerative fatal disease is believed to come from eating beef products from infected cows.
It has a long incubation period, up to 30 years, and has been confirmed or deemed probable in 167 other people worldwide. Almost all of the cases have been in Britain.
Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, was first discovered in Japan in 2001.
Since then, Tokyo has checked every slaughtered cow before it entered the food supply and banned beef imports from the United States and Canada.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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Pope breathing on his own after tranquil night
Web Posted | Last Updated Fri, 25 Feb 2005 08:01:02 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 25th, 2005
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VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II is breathing on his own after spending a restful night in the hospital recovering from a successful tracheotomy, the Vatican said Friday.
Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said doctors have advised the Pope not to speak for several days to allow his larynx to recover.
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Navarro-Valls said the Pope had a "tranquil" night and had a good appetite, eating a breakfast Friday morning consisting of coffee, 10 small biscuits and yogurt.
There were no signs of bronchial infection relating to pneumonia, Navarro-Valls said.
Navarro-Valls denied reports that the Pope was placed on a respirator after the surgery. He said the Pope "had no need of assisted breathing" with a mechanical device.
"Assisted means mechanical, which wasn't used yesterday, nor last night, nor this morning. There was no need," he said. Shortly after he was rushed to the hospital by ambulance at midday Thursday, Vatican officials said the Pope was suffering from fever, congestion and breathing difficulties the same symptoms that sent him to the hospital earlier this month with a suspected case of influenza.
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Pope John Paul II in a video appearnace on Wednesday.
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The tracheotomy took 30 minutes and involved cutting a small hole in his throat and inserting a tube to aid in breathing.
Navarro-Valls said it was an elective, not an emergency surgery. He said that after the procedure, the Pope jokingly wrote on a piece of a paper: "What have they done to me?"
The pontiff appeared to be getting better since his last stay in the hospital. He had resumed some public activities, but was wheezing and looked gaunt during a public appearance on Wednesday.
The Pope suffers from Parkinson's disease, as well as crippling knee and hip ailments.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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Goodale budget delivers billions in new spending and tax cuts
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu, 24 Feb 2005 00:06:28 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 24th, 2005
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OTTAWA - Finance Minister Ralph Goodale delivered a broad-ranging and balanced budget Wednesday, including almost $13 billion for the military, $5 billion for a national child-care program and another $5 billion for the country's cities.
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The budget also accounts for billions of dollars promised to the provinces and territories in two agreements signed in the fall: the $41.3-billion health care deal, and the $33.4-billion agreement on equalization payments.
With all the money going to those two programs this year and next, the government is still predicting surpluses for those years, but it says those surpluses will be modest.
And given an ambitious social agenda, Goodale has turned to a five-year framework, something Paul Martin avoided when he was finance minister, because there is so much uncertainty in forecasting so far ahead, said TD Bank economist Don Drummond.
While the five-year approach provides an amount of certainty to Canadians, Drummond said it "ups the risk quotient" politically if the government isn't able to deliver.
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Ralph Goodale and Paul Martin make their way to present the federal budget.
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Political scientist Antonia Maioni sees the budget as moving ahead on Liberal promises the budget is sub-titled "Delivering on Commitments" and reaches out to the constituencies of the opposition parties.
"It's not an arrogant budget. It's a minority government budget," she said.
Goodale threw out a few surprises aimed at taking the wind out of opposition criticisms.
Chief among them, a number of tax measures for both personal and corporate income.
Businesses in Canada received notice that their taxes would be cut, although not for another three years. The finance minister pledged to reduce the general corporate tax rate from the current 21 per cent to 20.5 per cent in 2008, 20 per cent in 2009 and 19 per cent by 2010.
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Goodale's plan also calls for the basic personal exemption on income to rise to $10,000 by 2009. The deduction level for 2004 is $8,012.
"When fully implemented, this measure will remove from the tax rolls more than 860,000 of Canada's lowest-income taxpayers," Goodale said in his budget address.
Goodale also delivered on a promise to bolster Canada's military with 5,000 regular troops and 3,000 reservists. In all, the budget outlines $12.8 billion for the military over five years, including $2.76 billion for equipment such as helicopters, trucks and utility aircraft.
And a week after the Kyoto Protocol came into effect, Goodale promised $5 billion over five years, $3 billion of which is new, and $1 billion is directed at projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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Ralph Goodale presents the federal budget.
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The Liberals present the 2005 budget as a balanced one, but built into it is something they call an underlying surplus made up of a $3-billion contingency fund and $1 billion for "economic prudence."
If the $3 billion contingency reserve remains unspent, it automatically goes toward paying down the national debt, which stands at just over $501 billion.
TYPICAL TAX SAVINGS
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2006
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2007
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2008
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2009
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Single income earner
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$16.00
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$32.00
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$96.00
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$192.00*
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Family: One income earner, one dependent spouse
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$29.60
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$59.20
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$177.60
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$355.20*
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Family: Two income earners
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$32.00
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$64.00
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$192.00
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$384.00*
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* at least
Written by CBC News Online staff
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Budget to include billions for military, environment
Web Posted | Last Updated Wed, 23 Feb 2005 08:04:36 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 23rd, 2005
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OTTAWA - The Liberal government is expected to present a balanced budget Wednesday that includes billions of new dollars for the military and the Kyoto Accord while offering tax breaks to some Canadians.
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Finance Minister Ralph Goodale will present an eighth consecutive Liberal budget that balances the nation's books and is designed to placate the opposition parties who have the power to defeat the minority government.
Goodale is expected to announce around $13 billion for Canada's cash-strapped military. About one-third of the funding, which will be spread over five years, will be directed towards capital projects and infrastructure for the military, The Canadian Press reported.
The environment will also be a key focus of the budget, with about $5 billion earmarked for compliance with the Kyoto Accord, half of it new money. About $1 billion of that will go to a new fund for incentives to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
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Ralph Goodale
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Goodale will use the budget to showcase how his government plans to save money by becoming more environmentally friendly.
The plan will include a new Office of Green Procurement at the Department of Public Works that will look for energy-efficient ways to trim 10 per cent of the department's contracting costs.
Money for social programs will include $5 billion over five years for a new child care program, with a $1 billion initial commitment to be made Wednesday.
To appease the Conservatives, tax cuts will come through a boost to the basic personal exemption amount.
The Canadian Press reports the plan will include an increase totalling almost $2,000 over the next four years in the basic personal amount that one can earn before income tax kicks in.
That will ultimately bump about 800,000 low-income earners off the federal tax rolls.
Immigration will also get a boost of $400 million over five years including funding to help foreign doctors get their credentials recognized in Canada.
The budget is also expected to include more money for foreign aid and an increase to seniors benefits.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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NATO offers training for Iraqi military
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue, 22 Feb 2005 07:47:53 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 22nd, 2005
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BRUSSELS - NATO announced Tuesday it will work together to help train Iraq's military, although some countries opposed to the war will limit their contributions.
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"All 26 allies are working together to respond to the Iraqi government's request for support by training Iraqi security forces, providing equipment and helping to fund NATO's efforts," UN Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told a NATO summit.
The announcement on Iraq was considered to be a more of a symbolic show of unity among the 26 NATO leaders. NATO has been trying for months to get a commitment from all allies to join the mission.
Just over 100 NATO instructors are training senior Iraqi officers in Baghdad. More than half of the instructors are American.
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Prime Minister Paul Martin and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
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NATO planners hope to expand that operation to 160 instructors for a further expansion in September to allow NATO to help run a military academy outside the Iraqi capital.
But France, Germany and other opponents to the Iraq war will not send instructors to Iraq, limiting their contribution to training outside the country or funding for the operations.
NATO officials said France, the last alliance member to come on board, will contribute one officer to help coordination at NATO's military headquarters in southern Belgium.
But France may make a financial contribution to the mission and has offered to train 1,500 Iraqi military police in Qatar, outside the NATO program.
Prime Minister Paul Martin was expected to commit 30 Canadian military instructors to help train the Iraqi military in a NATO-led effort in Jordan.
U.S. President George W. Bush is holding back-to-back summits with NATO and the European Union as part of his five-day fence-mending trip to Europe. Relations between Europe and the U.S. have been strained in the wake of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
"Whatever the differences in the international community have been over the past couple of years, I think we have a really solid basis now for going forward in a unified way," British Prime Minister Tony Blair said after a breakfast meeting with Bush.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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Bush to call on European support for Iraq
Web Posted | Last Updated Mon, 21 Feb 2005 08:19:47 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 21st, 2005
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BRUSSELS - In what is being called a fence-mending trip to Europe, U.S. President George W. Bush will stress the need to bury past differences and call for support in Iraq.
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In a speech from Brussels where he began his five-day European trip on Monday, Bush will dismiss the rift over the U.S.-led invasion into Iraq. Excerpts of the speech were released in advance.
"As past debates fade, and great duties become clear, let us begin a new era of trans-Atlantic unity," Bush said.
"No temporary debate, no passing disagreement of governments, no power on earth will ever divide us," he said.
Despite European opposition to the war, Bush will ask for more support for the fledgling Iraqi government.
"Now is the time for the established democracies to give tangible political, economic and security assistance to the world's newest democracy," he said.
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U.S. President George Bush and Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt walk together before a meeting in in Brussels.
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"All nations now have an interest in the success of a free and democratic Iraq, which will fight terror, be a beacon of freedom, and be a source of true stability in the region."
Bush will attend meetings of the European Union and take part in the NATO summit, where Prime Minister Paul Martin is expected to talk about Canada's contribution to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Bush will dine privately with French President Jacques Chirac, a vocal critic of the war. He will visit Germany on Wednesday where he will meet with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder another critic of the Iraq war. He will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Slovakia on Thursday.
An alliance of 88 environmental, human rights, peace and other groups have planned two days of protests in Brussels against Bush.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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Marines, Iraqi forces surround Ramadi
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun, 20 Feb 2005 11:48:53 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 20th, 2005
BAGHDAD - U.S. Marines and Iraqi security forces launched a joint operation Sunday to crack down on insurgents in the volatile city of Ramadi.
They have set up checkpoints in and out of the city, screening vehicles for insurgents and weapons.
The military has also imposed a curfew in a bid to restore order in the wake of the Jan. 30 election, which has heightened Shia-Sunni tensions.
On voting day and since then, suicide bombers have been targeting Shia Muslims, killing dozens of people.
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Insurgents engage in street fighting in Ramadi on Saturday.
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Ramadi, about 110 kilometres west of Baghdad in Anbar province, has long been a centre of insurgent activity for most of the past year.
Two Indonesian television journalists and their driver were kidnapped by militants in the city on Feb. 15.
It was not clear if the troops of the 1st Marine expeditionary force and Iraqi soldiers would carry out a larger offensive on Ramadi.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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U.S. committee OKs all 3 arthritis drugs
Web Posted | Last Updated Sat, 19 Feb 2005 00:00:24 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 19th, 2005
WASHINGTON - A committee advising the U.S. drug regulator ruled Friday that three arthritis drugs linked to heart problems should stay on the American market, a decision that could affect millions of arthritis sufferers.
After 2½ days of hearings, a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee said Celebrex does pose an increased risk to patients taking it, but nonetheless voted 31-1 to let its makers continue selling it because of the anti-inflammatory's effectiveness in relieving severe pain.
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Committee says drug
should still be sold.
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Panelists later voted 14-12 to let a similar drug called Bextra stay on the market, with several members abstaining.
A third vote approved the other painkiller in the COX-2 selective inhibitor class, Vioxx.
The committee said Celebrex seems to pose a lower risk of heart problems than the other two drugs, though some members of the panel complained about the dearth of scientific data placed before them.
The Food and Drug Administration does not have to accept the advisory committee's recommendation, though it traditionally does so.
In Canada, Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh said his officials will evaluate the drugs independently of what the FDA decides to do.
"Our scientific experts have been working on this issue for some time," Dosanjh said Friday afternoon, promising, "We will have public input before we make the final decision."
It will be at least six or eight weeks before Health Canada decides what to do about the three anti-inflammatory drugs, he said.
Earlier this week, Dosanjh announced new drug-safety measures, including warnings on potentially risky arthritis medications like Celebrex.
The makers of Vioxx, one of the world's most popular arthritis medications, pulled it from worldwide pharmacy shelves in September 2004 when studies linked it to a higher incidence of heart and stroke problems among patients taking it.
Studies published later suggested the same kind of problems might affect patients taking the other COX-2 selective inhibitors as well.
The American drug manufacturer of Vioxx has said that if the FDA decides the benefits of it and similar pain relievers outweigh the risks, the company might consider putting it back on the market.
"We would have to consider the implications of these new data" for Vioxx, said Peter S. Kim, president of Merck Research Laboratories.
Last year, Canadian doctors wrote more than 13 million prescriptions for the drugs, including Vioxx.
With Vioxx off the market, prescriptions for Celebrex in Canada shot up by 38 per cent last October amounting to more than 100,000 new prescriptions for the drug.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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Cosby will not face charges
Web Posted | Last Updated Fri, 18 Feb 2005 07:56:07 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 18th, 2005
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PHILADELPHIA - Actor and comedian Bill Cosby will not face charges over allegations that he drugged and fondled a Canadian woman at his Philadelphia home last year, a prosecutor says.
Authorities found "insufficient credible and admissible evidence" to support the woman's claims, Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor said in a statement.
The 31-year-old Pickering, Ont., woman had been an employee at Philadelphia's Temple University and had befriended Cosby, a benefactor of the school.
The woman had told Canadian police last month that Cosby gave her medication to make her feel dizzy then fondled her at his Philadelphia mansion a year ago.
She said when she woke up she found her bra undone and her clothes in disarray.
Cosby has denied the allegations.
Prosecutors noted that the woman waited a year before coming forward with the allegation and had contacted Cosby in the past year.
They said those two factors played a role in their decision not to lay charges.
In a statement, Castor said detectives also reviewed claims by other people that Cosby had "behaved inappropriately" toward them in the past.
They found no instance "where anyone complained to law enforcement of conduct which would constitute a criminal offence," Castor wrote.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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Crown to retry 'Johnathan' case
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu, 17 Feb 2005 07:56:00 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 17th, 2005
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TORONTO - Prosecutors say they will retry the case of three teenagers in Toronto charged with the murder of a 12-year-old boy.
Paul Culver, Crown attorney for the Toronto region, told the Toronto Star that he could not estimate when the second trial would begin. Defence lawyers believe it will be no sooner than the fall.
A mistrial was declared after a key prosecution witness allegedly lied about her interest in vampirism.
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Justice David Watt said the witness, a former girlfriend of one of the defendants, may have misled the court after a newspaper reported she had contradicted her sworn testimony in postings to the internet.
The 12-year-old victim, who can only be identified as "Johnathan," was stabbed to death in November 2003.
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3 Toronto teens face girl's testimony.
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The victim's older brother, now 18, and two friends, ages 16 and 17, were charged with first-degree murder. All three pleaded not guilty.
The victim's stepfather was also beaten, but managed to flee.
Defence lawyer Robert Nuttall, who represents Johnathan's brother, said the prosecution "has a lot to think about" in the wake of the revelations surrounding the Crown's key witness.
"She was the star [witness], and she was being presented as the star. It would have been highly desirable for the prosecution to have done a little bit more research about [her] background," Nuttall said.
The witness was a girlfriend of one of the accused. She taped a phone conversation with the three boys discussing plans to kill Johnathan and his family.
The defence claimed that the murder plan in the taped phone call was a joke and an attempt to woo the girl, who shared her then-boyfriend's fascination with vampirism.
During the trial, Johnathan's brother acknowledged that he stabbed the victim to death, but argued that he suffered from a psychiatric disorder that made him unable to control violent impulses.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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Kyoto Protocol comes into effect
Web Posted | Last Updated Wed, 16 Feb 2005 08:02:30 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 16th, 2005
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OTTAWA - The Kyoto Protocol, an international pact aimed at reducing the world's greenhouse gas emissions, came into effect Thursday, although Canada still has not spelled out its own plan for compliance.
But CBC News has learned that the emission targets for large Canadian polluters have been cut back from the original federal plan that was unveiled in 2002.
Canada has committed to chopping its greenhouse gas emissions by six per cent from 1990 levels by 2008-2012.
Environment Minister Stephane Dion said Tuesday that Canada's plan to implement the agreement won't be in the Feb. 23 budget, but will be announced "in the weeks after the budget."
Ottawa's initial plan, unveiled in 2002, required large industrial emitters to cut back by 55 megatonnes as part of an overall 240 megatonne target.
But sources tell CBC News that the new deal lowers that to between 40 and 45 megatonnes.
The international agreement negotiated eight years ago in Kyoto Japan and ratified by 140 countries including Canada was aimed at addressing the problem of global warming.
The accord imposes limits on emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases scientists blame for rising world temperatures, melting glaciers and rising oceans.
Implementation of the agreement has been delayed by the requirement that countries accounting for 55 per cent of the world's emissions ratify it. The goal was reached last year when Russia signed on.
The U.S. has not ratified the treaty, claiming it would damage the U.S. economy and other major developing nations like China and India are exempt.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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NHL players blink on salary cap
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue, 15 Feb 2005 07:46:11 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 15th, 2005
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NEW YORK - The NHL players' union broke from its long-standing position of refusing to accept a salary cap in its latest offer Monday night, but owners rejected the deal, according to reports.
The move comes as the NHL announced a news conference for Wednesday at 1 p.m. in New York, at which time commissioner Gary Bettman is expected to announce the cancellation of the 2004-2005 season.
A $52-million US salary cap, considered the main point of contention between the owners and players, was offered by NHL Players' Association senior director Ted Saskin during his secret meeting with NHL executive vice-president Bill Daly in Niagara Falls, N.Y., the Canadian Press reported.
The NHL had offered a $40-million US salary cap without linkage between player costs and league revenues something the owners had initially insisted on.
The union counter-offered with a $52-million US salary cap. The players also proposed more aggressive tax rates on team payrolls and offered a 24 per cent salary rollback on all existing contracts.
The NHLPA has refused to accept a salary cap but has been willing to discuss a luxury-tax system in which teams are penalized a certain rate if their payrolls exceed a determined amount.
Since the beginning of the lockout, the NHL has maintained that a salary cap is the only way to ensure future financial stability and parity.
Should the NHL season be cancelled, it would mark the first time among North America's four major professional sports leagues that an entire regular-season campaign had to be scrubbed because of a labour dispute.
Initial reports claimed the season was going to be cancelled Tuesday. But it appears last-minute talks Monday between Daly and Saskin pushed Bettman's announcement back.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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PM to sign landmark offshore revenue deal
Web Posted | Last Updated Mon, 14 Feb 2005 08:04:22 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 14th, 2005
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ST. JOHN'S, NFLD. - Prime Minister Paul Martin will sign new offshore revenue deals with the governments of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia on Monday, amid a growing controversy over the agreement among premiers across the country.
The agreements promise Nova Scotia a minimum of $830 million and Newfoundland and Labrador $2.6 billion over an eight-year period, and allow the provinces to keep their equalization payments.
Martin will attend signing ceremonies in St. John's Monday morning and Halifax Monday afternoon. For the deal to be official, it must be passed by the House of Commons.
But Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has called the deal unfair to wealthy provinces, while other premiers including Saskatchewan's Lorne Calvert, the Northwest Territories' Joe Handley and New Brunswick's Bernard Lord have served notice they will be seeking similar terms.
McGuinty said last week the offshore deals hurt Ontarians, who send more money to Ottawa than they receive.
But Martin defended the deal, saying that McGuinty's "facts are wrong."
He said this deal strengthens the offshore accords the federal government and the provinces signed in 1985, and will give the two provinces a chance to deal with the highest debts in the country.
"I really find it very difficult to believe that the premier of Ontario would begrudge Newfoundland and Labrador the opportunity to benefit from this window of opportunity," he said.
"I say this deal is very fair to Ontario. Ontario benefits when Newfoundland does well," Martin said.
An announcement of the agreement came Jan. 28 after a day of meetings in Ottawa with Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams and Nova Scotia Premier John Hamm.
The offshore deal followed months of often acrimonious bickering between the provincial and federal governments.
Under the deal, the two provinces keep all their energy revenues and continue to receive equalization payments.
Nova Scotia and Newfoundland have been pressing to keep 100 per cent of offshore energy revenues without losing existing equalization payments. Ottawa currently claws back up to 70 per cent of energy revenue in the form of reduced equalization payments.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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Iraq releases election results
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun, 13 Feb 2005 10:11:40 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 13th, 2005
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BAGHDAD, IRAQ - Parties aligned with Iraq's majority Shia Muslilms won the most votes in the country's first democratic-style election held in more than 50 years, Iraqi election officials said Sunday.
More than four million ballots were cast for Shia-run parties, representing 47.6 per cent of the vote.
A Kurdish alliance was second with more than two million votes, or 26 per cent of the vote.
A list of parties supporting interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi finished third with 1.17 million votes, or 13.8 per cent.
Sunday's announcement will be followed by a three-day period to verify the results and hear any disputes. After that, the results will be declared final.
The balloting was the first since Saddam Hussein was ousted from power after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
Shia religious groups also appeared to have won control of most provincial councils, including the two biggest cities, Baghdad and Basra.
The results put Iraq's Shia Muslim majority in power for the first time, marking a major change in the nation's politics after eight decades of rule by Sunni Muslims.
Many Sunni Muslims, who make up about 20 per cent of the population, boycotted the election. However, observers say there are early indications that Sunni politicians will take part in drafting the constitution.
Sunni militants were reported among insurgents who launched an increasing wave of violence in past months to try to block the Jan. 30 election.
Iraq's interim government, fearing more sectarian violence during a major Shia religious holiday, closed the country's borders for five days starting last Thursday.
Baghdad car bomb kills 18
The move couldn't prevent a series of attacks on Saturday, however, including a car bomb that killed 18 people and injured 21 others in a mostly Shia Muslim town south of Baghdad.
Witnesses said a car was driving towards a hospital in Musayyib when it exploded, killing mostly Iraqi policemen and hospital employees.
More than 100 people have been killed this week by the violence in Iraq, including at least 14 Shia worshippers who died after a truck bomb exploded near a mosque north of Baghdad on Friday.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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Hundreds missing after dam bursts in Pakistan
Web Posted | Last Updated Sat, 12 Feb 2005 10:50:32 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 12th, 2005
QUETTA, PAKISTAN - More than 80 people are dead and as many as 500 are missing after a dam burst in Pakistan's Baluchistan province.
Water from torrential rain surged from the Shadikor dam through villages near the coastal town of Pasni late Friday. Witnesses say they saw people being swept into the Arabian Sea.
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A breach on a road, caused by torrential rains in Muzaffarabad.
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More than 1,200 villagers have been pulled alive from the waters by troops, helicopters and boats sent to the area, an army spokesperson said.
Coast guard patrols are sweeping the coast with fishing nets to retrieve bodies.
Across the country, 50 more people have died in mudslides and house collapses caused by two weeks of rain and snow.
Pakistan has launched a huge relief operation for some 20,000 people stricken by torrential rains in its southwestern provinces.
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Plan would shift thousands of federal civil servants
Web Posted | Last Updated Fri, 11 Feb 2005 08:40:38 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 11th, 2005
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OTTAWA - The federal government is planning major changes in the way it serves Canadians, a move that could shift thousands of bureaucrats from cities to rural regions at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.
CBC News has learned that Ottawa is considering consolidating its services under the banner of Services Canada, the tentative name for a department that has been two years in the making.
It would provide one-stop shopping for Canadians who need everything from jobs to employment insurance forms to passport to health services for veterans.
Some provincial governments have already moved to this approach to deliver their services. Service New Brunswick, for example, provides more than 200 services including driver's licence renewals, land registry changes and property tax payments.
In a strategy outlined in draft budget documents shown to CBC, the federal government would beef up its presence in rural areas by relocating thousands of bureaucrats from departments like Human Resources and Skills Development over the next two years.
The workers most affected would be those staffing urban call centres, job centres and data centres.
The scheme has an ambitious timeline, if the Liberals go ahead with it. It would start on April 1 of this year and be fully implemented by 2007.
Government planners say modern technology would improve services while cutting costs.
However, a senior government source says starting up the new department would cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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Martin's turn to testify on sponsorship
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu, 10 Feb 2005 07:47:54 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 10th, 2005
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Live coverage on CBC Newsworld @
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OTTAWA - Prime Minister Paul Martin goes before the Gomery inquiry on Thursday and his demeanor is expected to be a lot different than that of his predecessor, Jean Chrétien.
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Martin's testimony is expected to be stunt-free. He won't be pulling any golf balls out of his briefcase, or try to show up Justice John Gomery.
Martin's appearance is also expected to be straightforward. People close to Martin say his main message will be that he's the one who called the inquiry and he still wants to know how $100 million of a $250-million sponsorship program ended up going to Liberal-friendly ad agencies, who according to the auditor general, did little or no work to earn it.
Chrétien's performance on Wednesday was given high marks by some Liberal MPs. "I thought it was a terrific performance, just top rate," said Ontario MP John Godfrey.
But the opposition reviews were a different matter. Conservative Leader Stephen Harper called it "petty and silly and completely missed the seriousness of the issue."
He said he didn't think "Chrétien did anything [on Tuesday] to facilitate the discovery of the truth."
Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe wasn't impressed either. "If it was show business, it was a good performance. If it was democracy, it wasn't. Because what [Chrétien] told people [Tuesday was that] he tried to buy Quebecers with their own money."
Martin was the minister of finance during the years the sponsorship program spent $250 million to raise the federal government's profile in Quebec. He will also be the last witness before the inquiry moves its hearings to Montreal.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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Former prime minister Jean Chrétien holds a golf ball during his testimony at the Gomery inquiry.
Prime Minister Paul Martin leaves a meeting with his Liberal caucus on Parliament Hill.
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Edmonton police chief fired
Web Posted | Last Updated Wed, 09 Feb 2005 07:50:03 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 9th, 2005
EDMONTON - Edmonton's police chief, who has come under criticism for his handling of a drinking and driving sting operation that targeted a newspaper columnist and the police commission chair, has been fired a day after he took a medical leave of absence.
Chief Fred Rayner's contract was "terminated by the police commission," said Martin Ignasiak, head of the police commission, late Tuesday night.
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Fred Rayner
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Ignasiak said that a new chief had been appointed, but that the unidentified candidate needed to be ratified by city council.
Rayner's announcement on Monday that he would take medical leave came hours after Solicitor General Harvey Cenaiko said the province would consider a public inquiry into the Nov. 18 stakeout that tried to catch both Edmonton Sun columnist Kerry Diotte and Ignasiak drinking and driving.
Rayner's announcement also coincided with the publication in the Edmonton Journal over the weekend of the transcripts of police radio calls on the night of the sting. Officers allegedly talked about where Diotte lives, how excited they would be to arrest him and the quality of his columns.
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Diotte and Ignasiak, who were attending a Canadian Association of Journalists event when the drinking and driving sting occurred, believe they were targets because of critical comments they had made about the police service. They said they weren't intoxicated and took cabs home.
The furor what happened when police staked out the Overtime bar on Nov.18 has grown steadily since last week when Rayner released the results of a review.
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Rayner announced that two senior officers were facing charges under the Police Act and that their disciplinary hearings would be open to the public.
But critics say as many as seven other officers should be charged as well.
On Monday, Cenaiko called the officers' conduct "extremely unprofessional" and said he had reviewed transcripts from the operation and believes a number of police officers did things that were wrong.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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Chrétien set to testify at sponsorship probe
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue, 08 Feb 2005 07:28:18 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 8th, 2005
OTTAWA - Former prime minister Jean Chrétien will testify before the Gomery inquiry beginning Tuesday morning.
Chrétien spent much of the day on Monday with his lawyers, preparing for his much-anticipated appearance.
The former prime minister will face a public grilling over the federal sponsorship program. He's to be followed later in the week by the current prime minister, Paul Martin.
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Jean Chrétien
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It was Martin who called the inquiry into the $250-million program that was set up by Chrétien to promote national unity in Quebec.
Money from the sponsorship program ended up paying steep commissions to Liberal-friendly ad agencies. The auditor general says about $100 million of the sponsorship money was paid in commissions.
But on Monday, it was Chrétien's former chief of staff, Jean Pelletier, who appeared before the inquiry.
Pelletier testified that after the 1995 referendum which Quebec separatists nearly won Canadian unity was the single most important file to Chrétien. Pelletier told the inquiry that guiding the sponsorship program was part of his job.
"Mr. Chrétien wanted to keep direct control over this. He made decisions that reflect this. So it wasn't complicated for us to understand it was a priority. He wanted us to keep close tabs on it so that's what we did," said Pelletier.
Pelletier said "keeping close tabs" meant meeting several times a year with the bureaucrats like Chuck Guité who ran the program, to advise him about which sporting and cultural events should get money.
"Guité arrived with the lists. I never saw anything else but lists of names of events and amounts requested. I never saw lists where there appeared the name of an agency, or the way in which they were paid."
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Guité has testified that Pelletier knew which Quebec ad firms were getting the contracts, and that he also knew what they were earning. Pelletier says it was perfectly legitimate for the prime minister's chief of staff to be so closely involved in directing what, essentially, was a political program.
"I have no excuses to make regarding the advice the PMO [Prime Minister's Office] gave about which events to sponsor. And as to the level of funding, we acquitted ourselves of our duties and I have a clear conscience."
Pelletier says he tried to exercise good judgment on behalf of the prime minister.
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Jean Pelletier in Ottawa, Monday.
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Quebec Justice John Gomery was appointed by Martin to find out what went wrong with the $250-million federal sponsorship program, which was set up by Chrétien.
An estimated $100 million of the money went to Liberal-friendly ad firms and other middlemen who sometimes failed to deliver quality work, according to a report issued last year by the auditor general.
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Remains found at Afghan plane wreckage
Web Posted | Last Updated Mon, 07 Feb 2005 07:27:54 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 7th, 2005
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - NATO troops who reached the wreckage of an Afghan airliner Monday found human remains but no signs any of the 104 people on board survived the plane crash, a spokesperson said.
A break in the weather conditions allowed helicopters to drop off a small team of medics, mountaineers and explosives experts near the site, 30 kilometres east of Kabul.
Rescue crews reached the site four days after the Boeing 737-200 vanished from radar screens as it approached Kabul airport in a snowstorm.
"They did find human remains," NATO spokesperson Maj. Karen Tissot Van Patot said. She said it was impossible to say how many bodies the remains belonged to.
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A Spanish helicopter hovers over the wreckage of the crashed Afghan Kam Air Boeing 737 on Chaperi mountain southeast of Kabul.
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The troops had to be lifted out of the area again as visibility worsened.
Fog, freezing temperatures and deep snow had forced the NATO-led rescue team to abandon its mission Sunday to reach the wreckage.
NATO helicopters spotted the tail and other parts of the Kam Air airplane on Chaperi mountain on Saturday. Airline officials said at least 21 foreigners were among the 96 passengers. Canadian Foreign Affairs has confirmed there was one Canadian on board, but has not released the person's identity.
Six Americans were believed to be on the flight, including three women who worked for a Boston-based aid agency.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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Weather slows recovery of Afghan plane wreckage
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun, 06 Feb 2005 13:29:26 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 6th, 2005
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KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - Afghan police and a NATO-led rescue team had to abandon their mission Sunday to reach the wreckage of an Afghan airliner lodged high in the snowy mountains east of Kabul.
Fog, freezing temperatures and deep snow hampered the search for the Boeing 737, which crashed Feb. 3. Officials fear all 104 people on board were killed.
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Canadian Foreign Affairs has confirmed there was one Canadian on board, but has not released the person's identity.
The Kam Air plane was flying from Herat and was thwarted from landing in Kabul because of a severe snowstorm. It disappeared from radar screens as it headed to Pakistan.
NATO helicopters spotted the tail and other parts of the Kam Air plane on Chaperi Mountain on Saturday.
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German and Italian military officers plan the best way to reach the wreckage.
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The aircraft dropped members of a Slovenian rescue team on to the mountain, but they were unable to reach the wreckage.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said search operations will resume Monday, weather permitting.
Airline officials said at least 21 foreigners were among the 96 passengers. Six Americans were believed to be on the flight, including three women who worked for a Boston-based aid agency.
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Afghan plane wreckage found
Web Posted | Last Updated Sat, 05 Feb 2005 08:33:42 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 5th, 2005
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KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - NATO helicopters have spotted the wreckage of an Afghan airliner that disappeared in the mountains east of Kabul. All 104 people on board appeared to have been killed, officials say.
The Kam Air Boeing 737-200 vanished from radar screens on Thursday while flying from the western city of Herat to the Afghan capital.
The aircraft had been turned away from Kabul's airport because of a severe blizzard. The pilot had contacted an airport in neighboring Pakistan for permission to land and was not heard from again.
Rugged terrain in Sorobi District and freezing fog and heavy snow slowed the search.
Airline officials say at least 21 foreigners were among the 96 passengers, including nine Turks and three American aid workers. Six Russian crew members and two Afghan staff were also on board.
On Friday, Canada's foreign affairs department said it's investigating whether any Canadians were on the flight. Unconfirmed reports said one of the pilots carried a Canadian passport.
Officials say NATO ground teams and about 200 Afghan national army troops were heading to the crash site, preparing for the job of picking through the wreckage.
The team includes a convoy of German armoured vehicles from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the NATO-led peacekeeping force operating in Afghanistan.
ISAF says the wreckage is at an altitude of 3,000 metres (9,840 feet).
Written by CBC News Online staff
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Attack on Iran not planned 'at this point': Rice
Web Posted | Last Updated Fri, 04 Feb 2005 06:34:10 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 4th, 2005
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LONDON - An attack on Iran over its nuclear program is "not on the agenda at this point," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday on her first foreign trip since assuming her new cabinet position.
"We have many diplomatic tools still at our disposal and we intend to pursue them fully," Rice told a news conference after a meeting with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.
Asked if a military attack was possible, Rice said: "The question is simply not on the agenda at this point."
Rice warned that Iran must not "use the cover" of civilian nuclear power development "to sustain a program that can lead to a nuclear weapon."
The United States believes Iran will use its uranium enrichment program to build nuclear weapons. European governments oppose military action against Iran over its nuclear program.
Britain, France and Germany have been holding talks with Tehran to have their program permanently frozen. They have been trying to get the Bush administration to lift economic sanctions on Iran, a move they believe is important in securing a deal with Tehran.
Rice met earlier in the day with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, her first foreign visit since taking over the role of secretary of state from Colin Powell. She is to visit several European capitals, as well as the Middle East over the coming days.
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Pope's condition improving: Vatican
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu, 03 Feb 2005 07:43:05 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 3rd, 2005
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VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul's medical condition is "evolving positively" and his breathing problems have receded, but the 84-year-old pontiff is still expected to stay in hospital for a week.
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In its latest health bulletin on Thursday, the Vatican said that the Pope has not suffered a repeat of the breathing spasms, "which was the reason for his urgent hospitalization."
It said that the laryngotracheitis an inflammation of the trachea, a breathing passage has regressed.
"The Holy Father's general condition and his respiratory condition are evolving positively," the statement said.
Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls earlier said that the Pope rested well over night, his second night in the hospital since he was rushed there Tuesday suffering respiratory problems brought on by the flu.
He said although doctors will decide how long the Pope remains in hospital, he believes it will be another seven days before he is released.
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Pope John Paul II looks at a white dove freed at the end of the Angelus prayer in St. Peter's square, Jan. 30.
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Angelo Cardinal Sodano, the Vatican secretary of state, told Italian media Wednesday night that the Pope was "recovering well," adding that he expected the situation to improve in a few days.
Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, head of the Vatican's health care office, said the extra days in hospital will allow doctors to be on guard "for any complications." Life-threatening pneumonia can result in people elderly and frail.
The Vatican said the Pope had suffered spasms of the larynx, making it difficult for him to breathe, and had an inflamed windpipe.
Sodano said the Pope's breathing problems could have been handled at the Vatican, but the Pope "as everybody, entrusts himself to the doctors" and it was decided to hospitalize him.
But Italian media, citing hospital sources, said doctors decided to rush the Pope to hospital because his coughing was cutting off his oxygen.
Pope John Paul II has been in poor health for many years, but he has seldom let that get in the way of his official duties. He regularly says mass and greets pilgrims who travel to the Vatican.
The Pope has Parkinson's disease, a degenerative neurological disorder. Observers had long suspected it as the cause of his trembling hands and slurred speech.
He had a tumour removed from his intestines in 1992, has knee and hip problems and also suffers from the effects of being shot in an assassination attempt in 1981.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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Sgro accuser to be deported to India
Web Posted | Last Updated Wed, 02 Feb 2005 07:45:53 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 2nd, 2005
TORONTO - A Brampton pizzeria owner who claims former immigration minister Judy Sgro promised to help him stay in Canada if he supplied food to her re-election campaign will be put on a plane to New Delhi Wednesday following his unsuccessful bid to remain in the country.
The Federal Court of Canada upheld a deportation order against Harjit Singh, who had been seeking an emergency stay of deportation so that he could stay in Canada and prove that he was not lying about the Sgro affair.
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Harjit Singh
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His allegations led the Liberal MP to resign her cabinet post in mid-January, vowing to clear her name by proving Singh was not credible.
Federal Court Justice Michael Phelan handed Sgro some ammunition in his ruling Tuesday.
"The essence of Singh's case is that an experienced politician would risk her career, her reputation and legal sanctions to assist a person who she does not know in exchange for free pizzas and a few election volunteers, and that the matter would forever remain secret," the judge wrote.
"This thesis does not make common sense."
Phelan's ruling came a day after Sgro filed a $750,000 defamation suit against Singh and three other people, saying they slandered her by falsely accusing her of influence peddling.
Singh's scheduled deportation will not halt an investigation into his allegations about Sgro. Lawyers for federal ethics commissioner Bernard Shapiro interviewed him at a Toronto-area immigration detention centre last week.
Shapiro is also looking into allegations that Sgro or her aides promised help for another campaign worker, Romanian exotic dancer Alina Balaican.
Singh, 49, has been in Canada as a visitor for 17 years, but immigration officials have refused his application to stay in the country permanently on half a dozen occasions.
His final bid for permanent resident status failed after police records in India indicated a past conviction for passport forgery and attempted child smuggling.
In Canada, he was found liable during a civil trial in connection with a $1 million credit card fraud scheme.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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Same-sex legislation heading to House of Commons
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue, 01 Feb 2005 08:07:01 EST
Giant Dwarf Posted: Febrary 1st, 2005
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OTTAWA - A fierce debate is expected to accompany the introduction of the Liberal government's controversial same-sex marriage bill in the House of Commons Tuesday, an issue that will spur some MPs to vote against party lines.
The legislation, which is expected to pass, comes after several provincial court decisions, including the Supreme Court of Canada, cleared the way to legalize same-sex marriage.
"The Supreme Court of Canada, in unanimously affirming that extending civil marriage to gays and lesbians was constitutional, said this was not only consistent with the Charter, but that it flowed from the Charter," Justice Minister Irwin Cotler said.
Both Liberals and Conservative MPs have been told they can vote freely, but cabinet ministers must support the bill. The Bloc Québécois is expected to support the bill and the NDP has ordered its members to vote in favour, although Manitoba New Democrat Bev Desjarlais says she'll vote against it.
The issue has put the most strains on the Liberal party, with many MPs struggling with a decision on how to vote. Although a majority of Liberal MPs support the legislation, a number are opposed to the bill and are prepared to vote against it.
Prime Minister Paul Martin, a Catholic whose own church has come out against the bill, has argued that the issue is about supporting minority rights. But he raised the ire of some who oppose the bill when he implied during his recent tour of Asia that he may go to the polls over the issue.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is opposed to same-sex marriage but has suggested he would support same-sex civil unions. He also says the changes his party will propose are not unconstitutional.
But Martin has criticized Harper's position, saying the Tory leader would have to invoke the notwithstanding clause to override the Charter of Rights and prohibit specific legislation on same-sex marriage.
A number of religious organizations oppose the bill, instead supporting the traditional definition of marriage. Martin has tried to allay those fears, pledging that religious groups will not be forced to recognize gay marriages.
In 2003, the government of Prime Minister Jean Chretien sent the bill to the Supreme Court for a review. The Martin government expanded the scope of the reference a year ago.
The high court ruled in December that same-sex marriages are constitutional.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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