Canada report

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 4, 2000

Liberals slip in polls, but still lead

OTTAWA -- Jean Chretien's Liberals have lost ground in every region of the country except Ontario, where they have solidified their commanding lead, a new Ipsos-Reid poll indicates.

The poll -- done for the Toronto Globe and Mail and CTV -- suggests a starkly divided country, with the conservative Canadian Alliance handily winning the battle for the West but lacking significant support east of Manitoba.

The Alliance, which appeared to have momentum at the start of the campaign, has stalled at 29 percent nationally, losing ground in Ontario where it hopes to make an electoral breakthrough.

The poll showed the Liberals with 42 percent support, down from 45 percent in the first week of the campaign.

If the current numbers hold up on election day, Nov. 27, the Liberals would win their third majority government under Chretien by holding their dominance in Ontario and recapturing Atlantic Canada.

A seat projection based on the poll shows the Liberals would win 171 seats of a total 301, including 100 of 103 seats in Ontario. The Alliance would pick up 73 seats -- most in the West, only three in Ontario and none east of the province. The Liberals won 155 seats in 1997 and Reform, the Alliance's predecessor, took 60.

Alberta to create high-speed network

EDMONTON, Alberta -- Alberta set itself up as a world technology leader by announcing a high-speed Internet network that will reach into every community in the province, no matter how tiny.

The initiative is intended to bring the best in education, health and business opportunities to all residents.

The province will provide $193-million to build the system's infrastructure and expects the network will open a new chapter in Alberta's booming economy by luring companies and thousands of jobs to the wired province.

"It represents the Alberta advantage of the 21st century," Innovation and Science Minister Lorne Taylor said Thursday. "This will be revolutionary for Alberta's economy."

Any community with at least one school, hospital, library, government or municipal office will have access to the network, for a total of nearly 420 settlements. Only 30 of the province's towns or cities now have some access to high-speed Internet services.

Currently, most rural residents access the Internet through sluggish telephone lines, which can receive just three pages of information per second. On the new system, they will be able to handle 75 pages per second.

Of course, the program requires cash-strapped schools, for example, to have computers and money to pay monthly Internet connection fees. Taylor said his government next week will announce measures to help schools take full advantage of the new network.

The province expects that 1,500 jobs will be created by the project startup and countless others will follow as companies begin to move to Alberta to take advantage of its top-of-the-line Internet infrastructure and low cost of living.

Attackers firebomb Edmonton synagogues

EDMONTON, Alberta -- Attackers threw firebombs at two Edmonton synagogues this week, causing minor damage and no injuries, authorities said. No individual or group has claimed responsibility, and no arrests have been made.

Synagogue officials blamed anti-Semitism for the attacks.

"It's not a Halloween prank," said Marvin Abugov, a board member with Beth Israel Synagogue. "That's an egg or washing a window with soap. This is an attack against the synagogue."

Firefighters put out a small blaze after two firebombs were thrown through a window at Beth Israel. Two hours earlier, the Beth Shalom Synagogue was hit in what synagogue official Neil Loomer said was the second firebomb attack in three weeks.

"We have to consider this a hate crime," he said.

Protests and violence against Jewish institutions have occurred in Canada and several other countries in recent weeks as tension has risen in the Middle East.

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