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Martin vows better effort from Cabinet

"The recent election made it clear that Canadians expect us to do better as a government," Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin said as he named his new team.

The minority Liberal government's 39-member Cabinet is a blend of veterans and rising stars that will "deliver real progress on the issues that matter most to Canadians," he said.

Key issues include health care reform, a national day care program and better funding for cities.

Along with the Cabinet's eight newcomers, Martin stayed with Ralph Goodale as finance minister and Anne McLellan as deputy prime minister and public safety minister.

Newcomers include former British Columbia Premier Ujjal Dosanjh, Vancouver forestry executive David Emerson, goaltending great Ken Dryden, former Conservative Scott Brison and the long-serving John Godfrey. David Anderson of British Columbia and Denis Coderre of Quebec were dropped.

Stephen Harper, who is staying on as Conservative leader, named a 40-member "shadow cabinet," billing it "a real government-in-waiting."

Conservative strategists heralded the team as proof of its credentials as a moderate, centrist force should the minority government be defeated in a nonconfidence vote.

Disappointed beef farmers heard Andy Mitchell, Canada's new agriculture minister, refuse to predict when the U.S. border is going to open to live Canadian cattle.

"I'm going to work as hard as I can to convince the Americans to do that at the earliest possible moment," he said.

It has been 14 months since international borders slammed shut to live cattle, costing the industry $2-billion in exports, after a case of mad cow disease turned up in Alberta.

Hundreds of people lined a Halifax dockyard Friday to welcome home the crew of HMCS Toronto after six months of duty in the Arabian Sea. Defense Minister Bill Graham praised the 235 crew members for their contribution to the U.S.-led war on terrorism. He also said the government would spend $5-billion on 28 Sikorsky Cyclone helicopters to replace Canada's aging and crash-prone choppers.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. named Richard Stursberg executive vice president of English television. The former Telefilm Canada chief executive replaces Harold Redekopp, who is retiring on Oct. 1.

Margaret Kemper, 55, ex-wife of late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, has a court date on a drunken driving charge. Police arrested Kemper after stopping a car on the Vanier Parkway in Ottawa.

Beer drinkers are wondering how the "I AM Canadian" slogan of Molson's will go down now that the company is in a $6-billion proposed merger with Adolph Coors Co. of the United States. Molson "wrapped itself in the Canadian flag for marketing purposes" that did more to fuel patriotism than sell its beer, the Globe and Mail commented.

The Bank of Canada decided to keep its key interest rate steady at 2 percent while warning increases might start in the fall. The prime lending rate is steady at 3.75 percent.

The Canadian dollar is lower at 75.69 US cents, while the U.S. dollar returns $1.3211 Canadian, before bank exchange fees.

Stock markets are lower, with Toronto's composite index at 8,390 points and the Canadian Venture Exchange at 1,499 points.

Lotto 6-49: (Wednesday) 19, 21, 24, 25, 45 and 46; bonus 39. (July 17) 10, 18, 23, 26, 41 and 43; bonus 42.

Peel Region police have arrested a visiting student for the abduction and murder of Cecilia Zhang, 9, of the Toronto area. Min Chen, 21, who knew the girl, was about to return to China. Cecilia disappeared from her home Oct. 20. Her body was found in March.

Prosecutors are seeking a $25,000 fine for the city of Saint John, New Brunswick, for admitting that workers failed to quickly report water-quality problems that led to a boil order for 40,000 people. There were no reports of illness because of bacterial contamination in the water. The city plans to spend $1.5-million on improvements.

A prospector has come across what is believed to be the wreckage of a plane that crashed 22 years ago with five passengers near Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. The missing Cessna 185 was never found.

Pet Valu's 290 Canadian stores have agreed to stop carrying Bark Bars after complaints by Canada Post. At issue are the doggie treats that resemble letter carriers and have the word "Mail" on them. The post office said the company was insensitive to dangers posed by dogs.