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Canada report

Alberta premier wants older cows destroyed

By JIM FOX
Published January 16, 2005

Alberta Premier Ralph Klein wants beef producers to destroy their older animals to restore international confidence in Canadian beef after two more cases of mad cow disease.

The beef industry is reeling over the latest news as farmers await the scheduled reopening of the U.S. market to live animals in March.

Previously rejected as an extreme reaction, a cull is being suggested. There's also an oversupply of older animals, usually made into hamburger, for which there has been no international market since May 2003, after the first incidence of the disease.

"I don't see how any sort of culling would be an appropriate response to what's going on," said Gary Little of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. He said new measures to prevent further occurrences are in place.

Stan Eby of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association said a cull would send a strong message to Canada's trading partners, especially the United States, where interests are fighting plans to reopen the border.

Federal officials say there is no threat to Canada's food supply and the positive tests are proof increased surveillance is working. Even with three positive tests, Canada remains a low risk for mad cow disease, they said.

An airport baggage handler has been arrested for the theft of a Team Canada hockey jersey worn by Sidney Crosby.

The 17-year-old star's jersey was missing from his equipment bag on his arrival in Montreal from a tournament in Grand Forks, N.D.

It was the red No. 9 jersey Crosby wore in Canada's 6-1 win over Russia in the gold medal game.

The weeklong hunt ended Monday in Lachute, Quebec, when postal worker Jean-Marc Saucier found it while clearing mailboxes.

Another game jersey, a white one donated for charity, had drawn a bid of $20,000 on eBay.

Police said a 48-year-old man from Laval, Quebec, was arrested.

The number of Canadians missing or unaccounted for in the Asian tsunami crisis continues to drop as more tourists have been found safe. The Canadian death toll is six, while the number of missing has fallen to 30 and 134 are "unaccounted for." The identified victims are Rubina Wong, 25, of Richmond, British Columbia; Gilles Bouchard, 57, Gatineau, Quebec; Rebecca Clark, 32, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia; Mathieu Lafond, 28, Repentigny, Quebec; and June Kander, 74, of Quebec City. The sixth victim has not been identified publically. Prime Minister Paul Martin is on a nine-day Asian tour to visit the tsunami-ravaged beaches of Thailand and Sri Lanka. He also will make business visits to Beijing, Tokyo and Hong Kong. The trip was scheduled long before the tsunami forced Martin to amend his agenda.

The Canadian government and Nova Scotia are close to a deal to share offshore energy revenues. A standoff continues, though, with Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams, who just returned Canadian flags to provincial buildings after taking them down in protest. The provinces have long pressed for a change in the way oil and gas revenues are shared. The deal for Nova Scotia could mean $1-billion for the province through 2020.

Canada's dollar has made steady gains over the past week, rising to 83.33 U.S. cents, while the U.S. greenback returns $1.20 Canadian before bank exchange fees.

The Bank of Canada's key interest rate is unchanged at 2.5 percent, while the prime lending rate is 4.25 percent.

Canadian stock markets are higher, with Toronto's composite index 9,001 points and the Canadian Venture Exchange 1,780 points.

Lotto 6-49: (Wednesday) 1, 13, 21, 34, 36 and 42; bonus 8. (Jan. 8) 3, 15, 18, 19, 32 and 48; bonus 17.

The Quebec government will make it easier for university students to repay their loans after graduation. Called the first of its kind in Canada, the program would delay student loan payments and subsidize interest costs for grads earning less than $25,620. With no time limits, the plan is to prevent more struggling graduates from defaulting on loans.

New Brunswick's auditor general will investigate NB Power, the province's electric utility. Auditor Daryl Wilson has been under political pressure to look into the botched deal between NB Power and Venezuela for a cheap fuel called Orimulsion. The utility sued Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. for $2-billion, saying the company failed to supply the fuel to the refurbished Coleson Cove generating station.

Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com

[Last modified January 16, 2005, 00:34:19]