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Scandal donations to go to taxpayers

Prime Minister Paul Martin says all donations to his Liberal Party that were tainted by the sponsorship scandal will be given back to Canadian taxpayers.

Eight Quebec advertising agencies are said to have benefited by millions of dollars under the program.

A judicial inquiry into the scandal, headed by Quebec Superior Court Justice John Gomery, will begin to hear witnesses soon.

The issue could affect the timing of a federal election as Martin acknowledged some members of his caucus are uneasy about going to the voters this spring.

Auditor General Sheila Fraser reported that Liberal-friendly Quebec firms got $100-million in commissions and fees, often for doing little or no work.

Martin said there is no personal vendetta against members of the old Liberal regime after the firing of Via Rail chairman Jean Pelletier, former chief aide to retired Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

Pelletier lost his job after belittling Olympic champ Myriam Bedard, a whistle-blower who questioned how Via Rail handled federal sponsorship money. He called the married Bedard a "pitiful" single mother seeking publicity.

Via president Mark LeFrancois was fired Friday for the passenger railway's role in the sponsorship program.

Serge Vennat, president of the Business Development Bank, and Canada Post head Andre Ouellet were suspended while Alfonso Gagliano, former Public Works minister and most recently ambassador to Denmark, was fired.

Canada could see an influx of environmental refugees from countries rocked by hurricanes, droughts and other disturbing effects of global climate change, a study prepared for the national spy agency says.

Others might be drawn to Canada as icy regions of the vast North become warmer and more hospitable to marine traffic, posing possible new security challenges, said the study, "Climate Change, Migration and Security."

The study by Barry Smit, a geography professor at the University of Guelph, and Robert McLeman, a doctoral student and former foreign service officer, said "climate-related disruptions of human populations and consequent migrations can be expected over coming decades."

Manitoba is enacting what it calls the most sweeping smoking ban in Canada. Effective Oct. 1, smoking will be banned in all public places and indoor workplaces under provincial jurisdiction. While several provinces have laws banning smoking in public places, there are exceptions made for ventilated smoking rooms in bars and restaurants.

A priest has been suspended from preaching and leading Mass because he has "contradicted the teaching" of the Roman Catholic Church by supporting same-sex marriage. The Archdiocese of Toronto said Rev. Tim Ryan of the Scarborough Foreign Mission Society is no longer considered a "priest in good standing." Ontario and British Columbia have legally recognized same-sex marriages while Prime Minister Paul Martin has promised to legalize gay unions.

Canada's dollar rose sharply Friday to 75.89 cents U.S. against the U.S. greenback, which fell to $1.3176 Canadian before bank exchange fees.

The Bank of Canada key interest rate was lowered by 0.25 percent to 2.25 percent while the prime lending dropped to 4 percent.

Canadian stock markets were higher, with Toronto's composite index at 8,797 and the Canadian Venture Exchange at 1,901 points on Friday.

Lotto 6-49: (Wednesday) 1, 2, 7, 16, 43 and 44; bonus 20. (Feb. 28) 3, 15, 17, 26, 27 and 46; bonus 38.

British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell says the National Energy Board's rejection of a U.S. energy company plan to build a power line to a huge gas-fired plant in nearby Washington state is a victory for clean air. It would have crossed the province's Fraser Valley, where residents of Abbotsford and Chilliwack warned the Sumas Energy 2 plant would dump tons of pollutants into the air daily.

New Brunswick Power is suing the state-owned Venezuelan oil company Petroles de Venezuela and its U.S. subsidiary, Bitumenes Orinoco, over a botched supply deal. Premier Bernard Lord has asked David Hay, new president of the power utility, to find out what went wrong with the $2-billion deal to bring a cheap Venezuelan fuel called Orimulsion to the newly refitted power plant at Coleson Cove.