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Canada Report

Farmers press government to accelerate aid package

By JIM FOX
Published July 2, 2006

Farmers joined Canada's independence celebrations on Parliament Hill this weekend.

As Canadians mark the country's 139 years of confederation, several hundred tractors and farm vehicles are parked nearby to pressure the government to live up to its promises to aid farmers.

The new Conservative government has promised to make $2.5-billion available to the agricultural industry over the next five years. Farmers haven't seen anything yet, said Leo Guilbeault of Farmers Feed Cities.

The group wants the government to accelerate its aid package, as many farmers can't afford crop insurance premiums needed to qualify for federal assistance.

On Friday, the day before Canada Day, the farm convoy visited the prime minister's residence and dropped off a food basket for Stephen Harper. The group then went to Rideau Hall with a basket for Governor General Michaelle Jean.

They joined the weekend celebrations by giving out 34,000 cups of ice cream and thousands of cheese curd samples to educate people about the importance of protecting the nation's food supply.

Harper says party's finances are proper

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says his Conservative Party did nothing wrong regarding political financing rules.

Opposition parties suggest the Conservatives improperly didn't declare fees collected for its March 2005 convention.

Chief Electoral Office Jean-Pierre Kingsley has asked the Conservatives to provide him with supporting documents.

The Liberals and New Democrats say convention fees constitute a donation to the party. As a result, the Conservatives took in $1.7-million in unreported donations, they contend.

News in brief

- The opening of a Tim Horton's is giving Canadian troops in Afghanistan a taste of home. The popular coffee and doughnut chain has a small air-conditioned outlet at the desolate Kandahar coalition base. The employees, flown in from Canada for six-month tours of duty, were busy making doughnuts, brewing coffee and serving iced cappuccinos.

- A teenager who dropped a boulder from an overpass killing Robert Stanley, 75, an Edmonton school bus driver, was sentenced to six months of house arrest. Judge Danielle Dalton called it a deadly prank caused by the 15-year-old's immaturity and that he didn't deliberately set out to kill anyone.

- It's been the motto that the Mounties "always get their man." Royal Canadian Mounted Police Constables Jason Tree and David Connors got each other and exchanged vows Saturday in their fabled red serge uniforms. The marriage ceremony in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, was the first between two male Mounties.

Facts and figures

Canada's dollar advanced to 89.64 cents U.S. on Friday while the U.S. dollar was worth $1.1155 Canadian before bank exchange fees.

The Bank of Canada's key interest rate is unchanged at 4.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 6 percent.

Stock markets are higher, with the Toronto composite index at 11,623 points and the Canadian Venture Exchange at 2,620 points.

Lotto 6-49: Wednesday 3, 5, 19, 20, 34 and 47; bonus 31. (June 24) 2, 20, 26, 29, 37 and 45; bonus 17.

Regional briefs

- An Edmonton police officer was seriously wounded in a confrontation that left an unidentified 27-year-old man dead. Constable Daniel Furman, 26, is in serious but stable condition at a city hospital. Police were investigating a gun complaint at a house when the officer was shot and his colleagues returned fire.

- The Transportation Safety Board said a computing error brought down a massive MK Airlines 747 cargo jet, killing all seven crew at Halifax airport in October 2004. It linked the crash to "deeper issues" of inadequate training and crew fatigue. A crew member didn't properly compute the cargo weight, leading to an underpowered takeoff and crash just beyond the runway.

- Two CN Rail crew members were killed and a third seriously injured when a locomotive derailed on a curve, went down a steep bank and caught fire in British Columbia's rugged Fraser Canyon. A mechanical failure on the locomotive is suspected. The section of track has had 20 derailments in the past year.

- Atlantic Superstores continue to open on Sundays in Nova Scotia despite new government regulations. Premier Rodney MacDonald said he is disappointed the grocery chain won't respect the law against Sunday shopping - the last province in Canada with such a ban.

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

[Last modified July 2, 2006, 06:34:02]