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Canada report

Chief: London attacks show need to fight

By JIM FOX
Published July 17, 2005

Canada's military chief says allies must take the fight against terrorists to failed states such as Afghanistan so terrorists won't have room to thrive.

Gen. Rick Hillier said the London attacks underscore the need, as terrorists must not be allowed to feed on the instability of countries.

"The London attacks tell us once more: We can't let up," said Hillier, who was appointed chief of defense staff this year.

"There are those who might say that by doing that we make ourselves a target in Canada here for terrorists; we need to take a stand," he said.

Canada has maintained a NATO force in Kabul since August 2003 and will send 250 troops this month to establish a provincial reconstruction team under U.S. command in Kandahar.

The team will facilitate the work of aid groups, train police and help stabilize the area before a fighting force follows, which will bring the total to 1,500 Canadian troops there.

"We're not going to let those radical murderers and killers rob from others and certainly we're not going to let them rob from Canada," Hillier said.

"These are detestable murderers. . . . They detest our freedoms, they detest our society, they detest our liberties," he added.

Canadian ranchers are eager for the border to reopen to cattle shipments as the return of U.S. buyers is expected to raise prices.

A U.S. federal appeals court overturned the ban on Canadian cattle Thursday, throwing out a lower court ruling that imports could spread the disease. Washington responded by immediately reopening the border.

The import battle still faces one more legal hurdle, a hearing July 27 before District Court Judge Richard Cebull, who originally sided with the U.S. lobby group that wants to make the ban permanent.

Canada's red meat processing industry has annual sales of $11.4-billion and employs 34,000 people.

Robert Baltovich will be retried on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend, Elizabeth Bain of Toronto, 15 years ago, Ontario prosecutors decided. His conviction was overturned on appeal last year after lawyers raised the possibility that notorious sex-killer Paul Bernardo had killed Bain. Her body was never found. Baltovich, who is free on bail, served eight years of a life term before his successful appeal.

Chuck Cadman, the Surrey, B.C., member of Parliament whose vote was the key to keeping the Liberal government in power, has died of cancer. He was 57. Even though he was ill, the independent politician made the trip to Ottawa to vote in favor of the budget in the spring that kept the minority government alive.

Frank Moores, premier of Newfoundland in the 1970s, was remembered at his funeral for his witty humor and grace under pressure. Moores, 72, died July 10 in Perth, Ontario, of cancer.

Interest rates will rise "in the near term" to keep inflation in line, Bank of Canada Gov. David Dodge said. For now, the bank's key interest rate remains at 2.5 percent, while the prime lending rate is 4.25 percent.

The Canadian dollar is slightly lower at 81.93 U.S. cents, while the U.S. dollar is worth $1.2205 Canadian, before bank exchange fees.

Stock markets are lower, with Toronto's composite index at 10,121 points and the Canadian Venture Exchange at 1,714 points.

Lotto 6-49: (Wednesday) 1, 7, 8, 14, 32, 33; bonus 26. (July 9) 3, 8, 10, 23, 26, 28; bonus 22.

A coalition of environmentalists, fishermen and municipal leaders in Manitoba will try to stop North Dakota's Devils Lake drainage project. The group wants the Federal Court of Canada to force a halt to the project after a U.S. court refused. They fear it will pollute Canadian waters. Prime Minister Paul Martin has asked President George W. Bush to have the project studied by the International Joint Commission.

Two adventurers from Vancouver cycled into Moscow on Friday at the halfway point of a race to become the first to travel around the globe using only human muscle power. In the past year, Colin Angus and Julie Wafaei have biked, rowed, skied and hiked across some of the world's harshest terrain to publicize the environmental advantages of zero-emission transportation.

The New Brunswick government still wants to refurbish its aging nuclear power facility even though the federal government refuses to help financially. Politicians wanted $400-million of the $1.4-billion cost to extend the life of the Point Lepreau reactor 25 more years. The federal government said it's a provincial responsibility and giving aid would have triggered demands from other provinces.

Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com

[Last modified July 17, 2005, 01:07:03]