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By JIM FOX
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 12, 2000
Chretien becomes debate target
Four party leaders turned up the heat on Prime Minister Jean Chretien and his Liberal Party's record on everything from health care to his age during two televised leadership debates this week.
At 66 and seeking his third consecutive term as prime minister on Nov. 27, rivals hammered at Chretien for not retiring.
First elected to Parliament 37 years ago, Chretien is "pursuing power for the sake of power," said main challenger Stockwell Day, leader of the Canadian Alliance.
"You're a prime minister without a plan except to stay in office," charged Joe Clark, leader of the badly trailing Conservatives, and a former short-term Prime Minister.
Day, calling Chretien his chief tormentor, accused the prime minister of running campaign ads that falsely suggest he favors private two-tier health care.
New Democratic Party leader Alexa McDonough attacked Liberal cuts to Medicare as evidence her socialist party is the true protector of a public system.
Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe accused Chretien of calling an early election because he's afraid to wait for results of investigations into federal job-creation and other grants.
Uncertainty over the outcome of the U.S. election is proving to be costly for traveling Canadians as the dollar weakens.
The Canadian currency dropped to a 22-month low of 64.5 U.S. cents Thursday as the financial markets were unnerved by the mounting election suspense.
An anticipated Republican victory boosted the value of the U.S. dollar on world markets, dragging down Canada's currency.
The belief is a Bush administration would be "less interventionist in foreign exchange markets," with second-tier currencies such as Canada's being "net losers," said Rob Palombi, analyst at Standard and Poor's MMS.
Concerns are being expressed about the quality of French instruction at hearings in Quebec on the state of the language. Many parents blame the poor quality of written and spoken French used by young people on the school system. Others point to the media and a general "phenomena of Anglicization."
Ontario chief coroner James Young has ordered an inquest into the deaths of two teenagers killed during Take Our Kids to Work Day. The inquest will examine the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Amanda Peat and Robert Fulbrook, both 14, when an all-terrain vehicle they were driving crashed into a parked truck at a John Deere plant in Welland, Ontario.
A man from Santa Monica, Calif., was fined $5,000 for "air rage" after his behavior forced the pilots of the plane he was on to land. The Virgin Atlantic Airbus, en route to Los Angeles from England, was forced off course when Albert Roche, 44, began swearing and physically threatening the flight crew and other passengers after he was refused more liquor. He was jailed for six days after the incident.
Canada's dollar gained a little strength Friday at 64.81 U.S. cents while the American greenback returned $1.5429, before bank exchange fees.
Stock markets were also hit by the U.S. election suspense, with Toronto's 300 Index at 9,292 points and the Canadian Venture Exchange index 3,240 points.
There was no change in the Bank of Canada key interest rate of six percent or the 7.5-percent prime lending rate.
Lotto 6-49: (Wednesday) 12, 21, 33, 39, 47 and 49; bonus 46. (Nov. 4) 5, 6, 11, 20, 25 and 47; bonus 34.
Convicted killer Colin Thatcher, a former Saskatchewan Cabinet minister, has been denied early parole. A jury ruled Thatcher, 62, must return to prison where he has served 16 years of a minimum 25-year sentence for the first-degree murder of his wife, JoAnn Wilson, in Regina.
Raymond Best, 30, who mailed letter bombs to an Edmonton television station and Calgary's police chief, was sentenced to 12 years in jail. Best was also accused of sending a hoax letter bomb to Edmonton police Chief John Lindsay. Two people were injured when the parcel exploded at A-Channel. Best's motive was not disclosed.
Protesters in Surrey, British Columbia, are demanding the return of the death penalty after the arrest of a man accused of killing Heather Thomas, 10. Shane Ertmoed, 23, faces a first-degree murder charge. The girl disappeared while riding her bicycle in the Vancouver suburb Oct. 1. Her body was found three weeks later in a lake in a park.