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News from Connect2Canada
Reminder: Upcoming WHTI Deadline
The Connect2Canada Team
The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) already requires all travellers, including U.S. and Canadian citizens, to present a valid passport or NEXUS card when entering or exiting the U.S. by air. Additional WHTI identification requirements for entering the U.S. by land and water will come into effect on June 1, 2009.
Read more.
C2C Podcast: CBC Correspondent Henry Champ
The Connect2Canada Team
CBC's Former Washington Bureau Chief Henry Champ discusses his illustrious career in journalism and the effects of the Obama presidency on Canada.
Listen.
Special Features
Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg First in World To Decode Genetic Makeup of H1N1 Flu Virus
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Public Health Agency of Canada
Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq and Chief Public Health Officer Dr. David Butler-Jones today announced that Canadian scientists have completed work on decoding the genetic makeup of the H1N1 flu virus.
“The world’s knowledge of the H1N1 flu virus has taken a significant step forward thanks to the excellent work done at Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory,” said Minister Aglukkaq.
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Canada Requests Further Round of WTO Consultations on U.S. Country-of-Origin Labelling
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
The Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, and the Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, today announced that the Government of Canada is taking action on behalf of Canadian farmers in the dispute over U.S. country-of-origin labelling (COOL) measures. Canada has taken the next step in the World Trade Organization dispute settlement process by formally seeking further consultations with the United States.
“We are concerned with the approach the United States is taking to implement COOL and the negative impact it is having on our exporters,” said Minister Day. “Recent instructions from the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture encouraging the U.S. industry to use very strict labelling practices have removed the flexibility previously envisioned in the legislation and this affects the ability of our cattle and hog exporters to compete fairly in the U.S. market.”
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Statement by Trade Ministers of the United States, Canada and Mexico
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
Canadian Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, Stockwell Day, United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk, and Mexican Secretary of the Economy Gerardo Ruiz Mateos today issued the following statement calling for an end to unscientific bans on pork imports from their respective countries due to the fears of the H1N1 flu virus, noting the large and negative economic impact of such bans. More than a dozen countries worldwide have sought to ban pork imports from H1N1-affected nations:
“We would like to express our concern for the victims of the current outbreak of H1N1 human influenza. Our governments remain committed to doing everything possible to bring the outbreak under control.
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International News
Harper pays surprise Afghan visit
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Jane Taber and Jessica Leeder, The Globe and Mail
Stephen Harper surprised Canadian troops in Kandahar this morning, swooping in on one of the country's new C-17 strategic airlift and attempting to lay out a new course for the mission.
This was his third visit to the southern Afghanistan airbase, the largest NATO base in the world. Three years ago, he boldly told troops Canada “would not cut and run.”
Mr. Harper today said the success of the mission would be not be judged “by the length of our stay.”
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Border restrictions eased for ambulances
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Dave Battagello, Windsor Star
U.S. Homeland Security has agreed not to require passports from patients and paramedics rushing by ambulance for emergency care in Detroit, the CEO of Windsor Regional Hospital said Friday.
“We were very concerned,” said David Musyj. “Homeland Security for every single entry was going to require everyone have a passport with them.
It's just not practical for someone who requires emergency medical care that they are going to be carrying a passport with them at all times.”
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Former U.S. envoy sees Canada's side
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Greg Weston, The Petersborough Examiner
Contrary to any appearance that Canada–U.S. relations have become a bilateral love-in under Barack Obama, recently departed American ambassador David Wilkins warns that Capitol Hill is alive with the sound of protectionism.
“There are a lot of negative irritants in the air in Washington,” says the straight-shooting former diplomat.
Wilkins stopped for coffee and a chat yesterday during a visit to the Canadian capital he called home for three-plus years as U.S. ambassador.
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Ship's mission extended
Monday, May 04, 2009
Katie Derosa, Time Colonist
The federal government has extended Esquimalt-based HMCS Winnipeg's mission in the Gulf of Aden so the vessel can continue to ward off pirates threatening ships in the area.
The Canadian warship joined the NATO-led effort, called Operation Allied Protector, on April 2 and was originally set to remain in the waters off the coast of Somalia only until the end of April, but that has been extended at least until June at NATO's request, the government announced.
The extension allows HMCS Winnipeg to maintain a high-profile defence of the waters in an allied effort to deter pirates, Defence Minister Peter McKay said in a news release. The pirates, mostly Somali fisherman, are responsible for hijacking dozens of vessels, holding people aboard hostage and reaping millions of dollars in ransoms.
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Les Canadiens en faveur de négociations avec l'UE
Lundi 04 mai 2009
Terry Pedwell, La Presse Canadienne
Les résultats d'un récent sondage indiquent que le premier ministre Stephen Harper compte sur le soutien d'une majorité de Canadiens, alors qu'il entreprend une nouvelle tranche de négociations sur les échanges commerciaux avec l'Union européenne (UE).
Des responsables fédéraux affirment de plus que la plupart des provinces appuient M. Harper en dépit des objections exprimées par au moins un premier ministre, Danny Williams, à la tête de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador.
M. Harper doit se rendre aujourd'hui en République tchèque afin de s'entretenir avec des dirigeants européens.
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Moscow expels Canadians in NATO spat
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Allan Woods, Toronto Star
Isabelle François has been working for the last five years to improve relations between Russia and NATO, Moscow's longtime nemesis.
Today, she will become another casualty in an awkward relationship that has teetered between cautious friendship and outright hostility. François, director of the NATO information centre in the Russian capital, and a lower-ranking Canadian colleague are to be expelled from their posts by the Russian foreign ministry, according to a senior official with the Russian embassy in Ottawa.
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Canada ups aid to Sri Lanka by $3M
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Stewart Bell, National Post
Canada is sending another $3-million in foreign aid to Sri Lanka to help the country meet the humanitarian needs of ethnic Tamils displaced by civil war.
Bev Oda, the Minister of International Cooperation, said in an exclusive interview the money would help pay for food, water, shelter and hygiene kits for 200,000 Tamils living at temporary camps.
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Business and Trade
Obama eyes Canada as bank model
Monday, May 04, 2009
David Olive, Toronto Star
Barack Obama, contemplating sweeping reforms to the U.S. financial system, cited Canada as a model worth emulating in an interview published yesterday.
"You know, I've looked at the evidence so far that indicates that other countries that have not seen some of the problems in their financial markets that we have nevertheless don't separate between investment banks and commercial banks," the U.S. president told New York Times economics columnistDavid Leonhart in a Times Magazine cover story yesterday. "They have a 'supermarket' model that they've got strong regulation of."
"Like Canada?" Leonhart asked.
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Restart mills, Ottawa tells U.S. Steel
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Kevin Carmichael, The Globe and Mail
Industry Minster Tony Clement is threatening legal action to get U.S. Steel Corp. [X-N] to resume operations in Canada and put hundreds of people back to work.
The Pittsburg-based company's decision in March to idle production at its Hamilton, Ont., factory violates the terms under which U.S. Steel was granted permission to buy Stelco Inc. in 2007, Mr. Clement said in statement Wednesday.
Mr. Clement said that he has sent U.S. Steel a “demand letter,” which represents the first stage in the enforcement process under the Canadian law that governs the sale of Canadian companies to international investors.
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Canada vows to take seal ban fight to WTO
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Janice Tibbetts, Peter O’Neil and Linda Nguyen, Canwest News Service
The federal government has a strong case to launch a World Trade Organization challenge to a European ban on seal products because the decision was based on "people's feelings" rather than hard facts, Trade Minister Stockwell Day says.
"We're moving ahead with an appeal," Mr. Day told Canwest News Service on Tuesday, warning that the trade action will proceed unless the European UnionParliament exempts Canada and other countries that he said practise humane and sustainable seal hunting.
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Canada's the place to be, says U.S. mutual fund manager
Monday, May 04, 2009
Keith Woolhouse, Canwest News Service
Robert Loest doesn't want to curry favour, and he's not asking you to invest in his Integrity Growth and Income Fund, a no-load ethical fund that, since its inception in 1995, has consistently outperformed the S&P 500 index and the Lipper Multi-Cap Core Index.
No, let me take that back. Loest, senior portfolio manager, would love to have you to invest in his fund, but it is not possible for foreigners to invest in U.S. mutual funds.
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Telus, Microsoft hook up on health system
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Simon Avery, The Globe and Mail
Telus Corp. says the day will come soon when Canadians turn to the phone company not just for phone, Internet and television service, but also for their prescription drugs, medical research and health care histories.
The nation's No. 2 phone operator will announce an agreement today with Microsoft Corp. to develop a system that gives Canadians control of their health files through their own personal database.
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EU, Canada sign deal to open aviation markets
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
The Globe and Mail
The European Union and Canada signed a deal Wednesday that would open aviation markets to each other and begin free trade negotiations, despite strains over a new EU ban on seal products.
The aviation deal is the EU's most far-reaching and open aviation pact with a trade partner and is meant to spur trans-Atlantic trade and competition. Under the deal, airlines based in the 27-nation bloc will be able to fly directly to Canada, and Canadian carriers would have similar access rights to points in Europe.
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Le Québec peut vite réduire sa dépendance au pétrole
Jeudi 07 mai 2009
Hélène Baril, La Presse
De toutes les sociétés, le Québec est celle qui pourrait réduire le plus rapidement sa dépendance au pétrole parce qu'il a une solution de remplacement: de l'électricité propre, abondante et pas chère.
«On ne peut pas attendre que les Américains et les Européens mettent des véhicules électriques sur le marché parce qu'ils n'ont pas le même intérêt que nous à le faire», estime Étienne Couture, président du Réseau des ingénieurs du Québec, qui présentait hier sa vision de l'avenir énergétique du Québec.
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Canadian News
Canadian champion wins Kentucky Derby
Sunday, May 03, 2009
CBC
Mine That Bird, the top two-year-old in Canada for 2008, was a huge upset winner in the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday afternoon.
The horse exploded over the final two furlongs, racing down the rail to win after going off at 50-1 in the first leg of U.S. thoroughbred racing's fabled Triple Crown.
It was the second-biggest upset in Derby history, behind 1913's Donerail, and it sent the Churchill Downs crowd — especially those who had bet on the Kentucky-bred gelding — into a frenzy.
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Ontario opens applications for enhanced driver's licence to cross U.S. border
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Canadian Press
Ontario residents can now apply for an enhanced driver's licence to use instead of a passport when crossing into the United States, Transportation Minister Jim Bradley announced Tuesday, even though the new documents won't be ready for weeks.
The U.S. will require passports or other secure identification documents for anyone crossing into the country by land or sea starting June 1, while a passport will still be required to enter the U.S. by air.
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Nova Scotia goes to the polls June 9
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Oliver Moore, The Globe and Mail
Sitting comfortably atop his rivals in polls going back more than a year, New Democrat Darrell Dexter is the man to beat in the Nova Scotia election called this morning.
Just don't tell him that.
“A good poll and a dollar-fifty will get you a cup of coffee,” Mr. Dexter said last week, speaking about the possibility of the first NDP government in the province's history. “I don't pay the kind of attention to that that others do.”
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Energizing Canada's brand
Friday, May 01, 2009
Allan Woods, Toronto Star
Diplomats are going back to school for classes in Alberta's tar sands and Canada's other vast energy resources in a bid to cement our brand as an energy superpower.
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Balsillie hunting for Coyotes
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Dave Gross and Don McGowan, Canwest News Service
Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie is back in the hunt for a National Hockey League franchise.
Balsillie, the BlackBerry billionaire, tabled an offer on Tuesday to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes, following the team's bankruptcy filing.
The hitch in the offer is that it is conditional on relocating the team to southern Ontario. The offer to purchase the club is pegged at $212.5 million US.
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I sing of myself — and Oprah is listening
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Les Perreaux, The Globe and Mail
Long after most aspiring singers would have gone back to their day jobs, Bernard Lachance thinks Oprah may have finally punched his ticket to the big time.
For a change, it's a ticket the crooner didn't have to sell himself.
Oprah Winfrey invited Mr. Lachance to appear on yesterday's show after she was impressed by the unknown singer's determined effort to sell his own concert.
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Quarantaine écourtée pour des Québécois
Jeudi 07 mai 2009
Radio-Canada
Les quelque 30 étudiants de l'Université de Montréal placés en quarantaine dans un hôtel de Changchun pour sept jours par les autorités de la province de Jilin, par crainte qu'ils ne soient porteurs du virus de la grippe A (H1N1) sont maintenant libres de reprendre leurs activités.
Ils ont reçu la permission de quitter l'hôtel où ils étaient confinés mercredi, soit deux jours plus tôt que prévu. Cette décision survient après que le gouvernement du Canada eut demandé des explications à Pékin, et que l'Organisation mondiale de la santé se fut interrogée sur les mesures de prévention adoptées par certains pays.
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Opinion/Editorial
Managing Canada U.S. relations
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Derek Burney, National Post
The following is an excerpt from Derek Burney's speech to the Canadian Airports Council at the Hilton Lac-Leamy in Gatineau, Que., on April 28.
We face some major challenges in our bilateral relationship with the U.S. They call for a strong combination of vigilance and dexterity. Let me illustrate the need to match initiatives with changing realities with a bit of history — from my own involvement with air policy during my time in Washington as ambassador to the United States. In 1989, the Canada–U.S. Free Trade Agreement had just come into effect and was aimed at transforming the Canadian economy through increasing North American economic integration.
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