The Canada report

It's so cold in Canada, not even the maple sap is running

The Great Lakes have frozen over, maple sap isn't running and tundra swans and other migratory birds haven't started making their way back to Canada.

This has been a record-cold winter in much of Canada, especially the east. The Great Lakes are covered in ice for the first time since 1994 and it's too cold to harvest sap to make maple syrup.

Icebreakers have been trying to keep marine traffic flowing on the frozen East Coast as ice floes have jammed the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Cabot Strait.

The start of the shipping season on the St. Lawrence Seaway expected this month has been delayed for one week for the first time because of heavy ice.

"This is what we would normally expect for a Canadian winter," said Bob Whitewood, climatologist for Environment Canada.

In southern Ontario and Quebec, this winter is the 10th coldest since 1948. In Atlantic Canada, it's the 14th coldest. Last week, temperatures plummeted to minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit in Toronto -- the coldest March day in a century.

Relief arrived this weekend, with temperatures about 50 in southern Ontario while Western Canada has had some warmer-than-usual weather.

Expect higher interest rates

Interest rates are headed higher to tackle inflation, Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge says.

With the economy robust and a surge in energy exports, fewer imports and higher housing prices, inflationary pressures are mounting.

"The expectation is that Canadian economic activity will remain near potential in 2003 despite geopolitical uncertainties," Dodge said.

Financial experts say higher oil prices and war uncertainty in the United States have pushed up the value of the Canadian dollar, which could be enough to head off more interest rate hikes.

In brief

A provincial election will be in Quebec on April 14, possibly charting a new course for the future of independence. Premier Bernard Landry said he is confident his Parti Quebecois can win a third straight term. Landry was less adamant about achieving independence by his stated target date of 2005, saying he'll hold a referendum only if he feels Quebeckers really want to leave Canada.

Ontario Education Minister Elizabeth Witmer was punched, jostled and heckled by an angry mob of teachers as she left their convention in Toronto. Shouting protesters, some wearing paper bags over their heads, rushed after her. One man pushed her, one punched her and someone threw a glass of water at her. The Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association has apologized. Teachers are upset over education cuts.

In a move that critics say is electioneering, Ontario Premier Ernie Eves will announce the government's budget plans March 27 in a TV studio instead of at the Legislature. He also delayed the start of the legislative session to April 30, saying it would give the public time to react to the budget before changes are made. An election is expected by the summer.

Facts and figures

Canada's dollar has eased back after the big gains of a week earlier. It was 67.45 U.S. cents on Friday while the U.S. dollar returned $1.4825 Canadian, before bank exchange fees.

The Bank of Canada key interest rate remains at 3 percent while the prime lending rate is 4.75 percent.

Canadian stock exchanges were lower Friday, with the Toronto index at 6,343 points and the Canadian Venture Exchange 1,061 points.

Lotto 6-49: (Wednesday) 16, 18, 21, 22, 32 and 33; bonus 5. (March 8) 8, 20, 22, 24, 33 and 44; bonus 30.

Regional briefs

A huge avalanche blocked the Trans-Canada Highway near Revelstoke, British Columbia, Tuesday. It was the second avalanche to close the highway in as many days. Two tractor-trailers were caught in the slide and damaged, but the drivers escaped uninjured. It's in a heavy snowbelt area that attracts many back-country skiers. Two avalanches near Revelstoke killed 14 skiers in January and February.

Two former Saskatoon police officers are in jail for leaving a native man outside in freezing temperatures. The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal said Dan Hatchen and Ken Munson must serve the eight-month jail sentences they were given more than a year ago. They dumped Darrell Night on the outskirts of the city in minus 10 temperatures. He survived, but a Mountie task force is investigating the cases of three aboriginal men found frozen to death outside the city.

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