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News from Connect2Canada
Facing Off to Support Families:
4th Annual FBI vs. Canadian Embassy Benefit Hockey Game
The Connect2Canada Team
On October 3, 2008 the FBI Washington Field Office hockey team faced off against the Canadian Embassy hockey team at the Verizon Center following a Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers pre-season game. This was the fourth time the two teams have met for their annual charity hockey game with proceeds benefiting the Canadian Militaries Family Fund this year. The event raised over $2500 for the Military Families fund. Each of the teams had an excellent turnout of fans, but the Embassy's spirited cheering section gave them the momentum to win the game. Both players and fans alike look foward to continuing the tradition in 2009.
Special Features
PM gives update on economic action plan
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Office of the Prime Minister
Prime Minister Stephen Harper today reiterated that protecting the Canadian economy is his top priority, and detailed further action being taken by the Government in response to the global financial crisis.
“The No. 1 job of the Prime Minister of Canada is to protect this country’s economy, our earnings, our savings, and our jobs, during a time of global economic uncertainty,” Harper said. “The mandate we received allows us to continue moving forward.”
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Statement by Minister of Finance on Implementation of G7 Plan of Action
Monday, October 13, 2008
Finance Canada
The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, issued the following statement:
"I strongly welcome the Plan of Action by G7 countries to stabilize financial markets and restore the flow of credit, to support global economic growth.
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Government of Canada Responds to Global Financial Turmoil With Support for Canadian Credit Markets
Friday, October 10, 2008
Finance Canada
The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today announced the Government will take steps to maintain the availability of longer-term credit in Canada by purchasing up to $25 billion in insured mortgage pools through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This action will help Canadian financial institutions raise longer-term funds and make them available to consumers, homebuyers and businesses in Canada.
This relief to Canadian homebuyers and consumers comes at no fiscal cost to the taxpayer. Indeed, these securities will earn a rate of return for the Government that is well above the Government’s own cost of borrowing. Moreover, as insured mortgage pools in Canada already carry Government backing, there is no additional risk to the taxpayer.
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International News
Quebec City gearing up for international Francophonie summit
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Canwest News Service
Quebec City is gearing up to host dozens of world leaders this week, but scheduling issues have dogged organizers of the Francophonie summit.
Premier Jean Charest convinced members of the Francophonie organization at its 2004 summit in Burkina Faso that the 2008 gathering should be in the provincial capital.
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World's poor hit hardest by rising food, energy costs: poll
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The weight of rising food and energy costs is bearing down heavily on a significant segment of the global population, hitting them hard at the pumps and dinner table, according to a new poll.
But in terms of higher food prices, Canada appeared to fare better than most of the other 25 countries participating in the poll, commissioned by the British Broadcasting Corporation World Service.
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Zimbabwe faces collapse, starvation
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Peter Goodspeed, The National Post
Zimbabwe's children are fending off starvation by eating rats or nibbling inedible roots riddled with toxic parasites, says the Save the Children charity.
The International Committee of the Red Cross says it has found people who survive on wild berries and roots.
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Google's royal visitors
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The Globe and Mail
She was the first monarch to send an e-mail. She has her own Web site. And on Thursday, Queen Elizabeth II uploaded video to YouTube during a visit to Google's British headquarters.
The company celebrated the queen's visit by creating a special version of its google.co.uk home page, which featured a silhouette of her head as the second “G” and a regal crown atop the “E” in their logo.
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Un enseignant honoré par la France
Mardi 14 octobre 2008
Yves Soucy, Le Droit
Enseignant de l'école secondaire Louis-Joseph-Papineau (LJP) depuis une trentaine d'années, Paul Gagnon, est l'une des rares personnes non résidentes de la France à se voir décerner par le gouvernement français la décoration honorifique de Chevalier de l'Ordre des Palmes académiques.
Il s'agit de la plus ancienne distinction décernée uniquement à titre civil.
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Business and Trade
Global Financial Crisis: Analysis
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Kevin Carmichael, The Globe and Mail
The world's seven big capitalist countries are turning their backs on orthodoxy in order to end the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
In an extraordinary statement last night, finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven major industrial nations stated in black and white that they will choose winners and losers if that's what it takes to restore calm to global markets. They also said they are willing to buy stakes in banks if there are no willing private investors at whatever cost necessary. After a meeting in Washington, the G7 officials made five pledges, including one to "take decisive action using all available tools to support systemically important financial institutions and prevent their failure." They also said they will make sure banks "can raise capital from public as well as private sources, in sufficient amounts to re-establish confidence and permit them to continue lending to households and businesses."
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Les banques canadiennes restent solides dans la tempête
Vendredi 10 octobre 2008
Rudy Le Cours, La Presse
Les banques canadiennes se classent premières au monde en ce qui a trait leur santé financière et à la solidité de leur bilan.
Les mesures que doit annoncer aujourd'hui Ottawa pour leur faciliter l'accès à des liquidités à court terme vont les aider à rester en tête de cet enviable peloton.
Le nouveau classement du Forum économique mondial leur accorde la note de 6,8 sur 7, soit un dixième de plus que leurs concurrentes de Suède, du Luxembourg, d'Autriche, du Danemark et des Pays-Bas.
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Canada will avoid recession—conference board
Thursday, October 16, 2008
David Friend, The Chronicle-Herald
Canada's economy faces some tough challenges as exports are further affected by a prolonged global slowdown and domestic demand weakens, the Conference Board of Canada says.
Despite the cautious sentiment, board economist Paul Darby says Canada will avoid a recession.
He told the Conference Board's annual business outlook briefing on Wednesday that economic growth will be weak in many areas but he expects overall gross domestic product will be up next year.
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Housing industry still healthy—U.S. woes don't apply here
Sunday, October 12, 2008
The Manitoba Home Builders Association, Winnipeg Free Press
There has been a considerable hue and cry recently concerning the anticipated collapse of Canada's housing industry. Statisticians isolate one month of below-average starts and attempt to apply them to an entire year. People read about what is happening in the United States and just assume that whatever happens there is destined for Canada in the immediate future. Investment brokerage firms create scare tactics to encourage consumers to hold back on big-ticket spending.
However, the simple truth is that Canada is not the U.S. and whatever happens there does not necessarily happen here; and there is a variety of experts who can give reasons why it won't. Two brokerage firms recently predicted the demise of Canada's housing industry and the media and many others picked up on these stories. These were not banks, credit unions or other financial institutions firmly entrenched and familiar with mortgages, but rather companies (one with a very limited Canadian presence) whose primary interest is encouraging clients to invest in savings strategies rather than big-ticket purchases.
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COOL, or, Country of Origin Labelling, is shaping up to be a hog-tying nightmare for anyone selling imported meat
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Michael Platt, The Calgary Sun
Canada, when it comes to beef, is a dirty word.
At least that's the fear of cattle producers in Alberta and other provinces, as the words "Product of Canada" are pasted on every Canadian meat product sold in U.S. grocery stores.
"We certainly have concerns -- this is the kind of barrier to trade that can affect our competitiveness," said Travis Toews, chair of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association Foreign Trade committee.
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Canadian News
Harper wins stronger minority government
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Michael Stittle, CTV
Stephen Harper says Canadians have "chartered the way forward" for Canada, after strong gains in Ontario gave the Conservatives a larger minority government.
"No matter what economic challenges we face from abroad, this is a land where people from every corner of the Earth have come together to build a peaceful and prosperous country without comparison," the Conservative leader told cheering supporters in Calgary. "Canada will always be the true north, strong and free."
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Calvert to announce plans for his future as leader of Sask. NDP
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
CBC News
Former Saskatchewan premier Lorne Calvert is ready to share his plans for his future as leader of the provincial NDP, sources have told CBC News.
Calvert is scheduled for a speaking engagement Thursday night in Saskatoon and he is expected to reveal whether his party will be launched into a leadership race.
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Braking innovation may save lives, says Transport Canada
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Katherine Lalancette, The Windsor Star
A braking system for cars that has widely been hailed as the most important safety innovation since the seatbelt could save almost 1,000 Canadian lives a year.
But more than 60 per cent of Canadians have never heard of the technology and fewer than 10 per cent have it in their vehicle, according to a survey commissioned by Transport Canada.
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Le CRTC à l'écoute
Mercredi 15 octobre 2008
Radio-Canada
Le Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes (CRTC) a annoncé, mercredi, qu'il étudiera la radiodiffusion dans les nouveaux médias, comme Internet et la téléphonie sans fil, une pratique de plus en plus répandue au pays.
Le CRTC se penchera aussi sur l'implication de ce phénomène pour le système canadien de radiodiffusion.
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Always pack travel insurance
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Rosemary McCracken, The Windsor Star
In April 2008, Ed Doucet was biking down a mountain in Majorca, Spain at 50 km/h when a tire became caught in a rut in the road. He flipped over the handlebars, landing on his pelvis. The damage: three pelvic fractures and four cracked ribs.
Doucet, 33, found out first-hand that when a medical emergency arises outside Canada, travel insurance is a traveller's best friend
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Opinion/Editorial
Canadians heading to the polls with an eye on the U.S campaign
Friday, October 10, 2008
Aijaz Husain, The Leader-Post
Just three weeks after Canadians go to the polls on Oct. 14, American voters will elect their new president.
It might seem as if whatever happens south of the border is none of our business. But considering that the U.S. is our giant next door neighbour, a NATO and NORAD ally, largest trade partner, a NAFTA affiliate, a member of the G-8 club, a coalition team player in the war on terror in Afghanistan and shares the world's longest 8,891 kilometres of unguarded border, it is safe to say that we have a vital interest in who is going to be the next president of the United States.
Canadians are not always neutral in their desire to see which candidate will win the race to the White House, or what political party should be dominant at the Capitol Hill. In Canada, we do have a Conservative government at the moment, but unlike the Americans, ours basically is not a conservative society. Our liberal leanings tend to make us cheer any candidate who shares our values and whose priorities are in line with ours.
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Le président de la République française au Québec
Mardi 14 octobre 2008
Louise Beaudoin, Le Devoir
Nicolas Sarkozy sera au Québec, à Québec plus précisément, les 17 et 18 octobre. Il sera accueilli, à son arrivée vendredi matin, par la gouverneure générale elle-même, ainsi que par Stephen Harper (quoi qu'il en soit du résultat des élections d'aujourd'hui) et Jean Charest.
Il vient mettre en branle, en tant que président de l'Union européenne, le processus de négociations d'un accord de libre-échange avec le Canada, signer avec Jean Charest une entente sur la mobilité professionnelle, prendre la parole, moment fort de sa visite, à l'Assemblée nationale et participer à la première journée du Sommet de la Francophonie. Il retournera à Paris samedi soir, avant que ne se tienne dimanche matin la cruciale plénière du Sommet concernant l'avenir de la langue française. A moins que la pression populaire ne le fasse changer d'idée.
Lire en détail
Why a Canada–EU deal matters
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Roy MacLaren, The Globe and Mail
Canada has long had an interest in enhancing its economic links with an increasingly affluent and united Europe, partly to provide greater diversity in its trade and partly for the broader geopolitical reason of becoming more active in the Atlantic community. During the past 50 years, Canada has sought those enhanced economic links through liberalized trade and investment, mainly in the multilateral General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. In light of technological change, however, Canada decided that, with the Canada-U.S. free-trade agreement of 1988, it would also seek viable bilateral and regional deals while supporting the creation of the new World Trade Organization to succeed the GATT.
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The Connect2Canada team produces NewsCan as a weekly summary of Canadian news. If you have comments or suggestions, please email us at newscan@canadianembassy.org.
The articles appearing in this newsletter have been collected from various Canadian and American news websites. Articles appear in the language in which they were published.
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