The Canada Report

Conservatives approve merger

Canada's Liberal government will face a combined right-wing challenge in the election expected next year.

The Canadian Alliance received near-unanimous approval from its members to merge with the Conservatives and create a united right-of-center party. The Conservatives voted 90 percent in favor of the merger on Saturday. Alliance leader Stephen Harper said the creation of a Conservative Party of Canada is "the dawning of a new era" in Canadian politics.

"One conservative voice from coast to coast would challenge the (Paul) Martin-(Jean) Chretien government and put an end to a decade of waste, corruption and mismanagement," he said.

The merger is a bid to halt a decade of vote splitting that helped the Liberals cruise to three successive electoral victories.

Meanwhile, a lawsuit by Conservative politician David Orchard against his party over the merger proposal was dismissed by the Ontario Superior Court.

Orchard and 22 other disgruntled Conservatives said a merger could only take place with the unanimous consent of the members.

Retiring Prime Minister Jean Chretien, in his final week in office, is contemplating several job offers and lucrative U.S. speaking engagements.

Chretien, 69, who is being succeeded by Paul Martin, said he is considering three unspecified job offers but won't announce a decision until after he leaves office Thursday.

He is also preparing for speaking engagements in the United States for "lots of money," but will limit his Canadian appearances so it doesn't appear he's meddling in domestic affairs.

Chretien leaves political life after 10 years as prime minister and 40 years as a member of Parliament. He and his wife, Aline, are moving into an Ottawa condominium.

Canada's 10 premiers and three territorial leaders are launching a council aimed at improving relations with the federal government, revitalizing health care and removing interprovincial trade barriers. The Council of the Federation will meet for the first time Feb. 23 and 24 in British Columbia.

There has been another case of alleged abuse at a health facility near Montreal. St. Charles Borromee Hospital has been at the center of controversy since allegations of psychological abuse against a handicapped patient came to light. The hospital's director was later found dead of an apparent suicide.

Music ended the funeral for Celine Dion's father in Quebec, but it wasn't anything sung by the pop diva. It was a recording of the accordion being played by the man who was called her No. 1 fan, her father, Adhemar Dion. The 80-year-old patriarch and father of 14 died last Sunday after a lengthy illness.

Canada's economy is showing new signs of strength as the jobless rate fell to 7.5 percent from 7.6 percent last month.

As a result, the Bank of Canada decided to leave the key interest rate unchanged at 2.75 percent, while the prime-lending rate remains 4.5 percent.

The economic news pushed up the Canadian dollar to 76.62 cents Friday while a U.S. dollar returned $1.3051 Canadian, before bank exchange fees.

Canadian stock exchanges were higher, with the Toronto index at 7,990 points and the Canadian Venture Exchange 1,734 points.

Lotto 6-49: (Wednesday) 3, 11, 27, 31, 33 and 35; bonus 1. (Nov. 29) 13, 17, 26, 27, 29 and 45; bonus 6.

Ontario's new Liberal government has taken over the province's giant electricity-generating utility and fired its top three executives. Senior managers were blamed for botching the restoration of the Pickering nuclear plant, which could end up costing $4-billion and take another five years to repair. Energy Minister Dwight Duncan said the Ontario Power Generation executives failed to properly oversee the utility or repair costs.

Prime Minister-in-waiting Paul Martin said that British Columbia politicians will have a substantial voice in his new government. Residents of the most-western province often feel isolated and neglected from the political center in Ontario. Martin has so far given no hints about how the province's six elected Liberals will fit into his plans.

The value of Canada's fishing industry reached a record high of $2.8-billion last year, largely due to strong demands internationally for lobster and snow crab. Exports of lobster accounted for $1-billion in sales, with snow crab amounting to $678-million. Farmed Atlantic salmon and shrimp were also top sellers.

The sounds of someone barking like a dog disrupted a session of the Quebec legislature on Friday. "Woof, woof," Liberal Daniel Bouchard barked, causing Parti Quebecois member Danielle Doyer to freeze in mid sentence. Bouchard apologized and said the long hours of the session were getting to him.

- Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com

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