A year of hot air on MPs' and senators' expenses

Politicians' expenses are usually a sleeper issue because so little is known about travel and housing claims that are regulated in secret sessions by the politicians themselves.

But this year, the veil on politicians' expenses was pulled back - a bit - in what became the top Ottawa story of 2013: the gross abuse of public money by a few senators.

The year began with the revelation of Senator Mike Duffy's habit of claiming expenses for living in his long-time Ottawa home. It drew to a crescendo with the spectacle of  Duffy and three other senators — Patrick Brazeau, Pamela Wallin and Mac Harb — suspended or retired and under an RCMP microscope over their inappropriate travel and housing claims.

The scandal might have been the reason for MPs unanimously voting in what senators call "the other place" — the House of Commons — to consider replacing their own secretive administrative closed-shop with an independent body to monitor their expenses.

Suddenly, transparency for expense accounts was an urgent issue.

But by year's end, almost nothing has changed.

One small step, but little detail

There was one bit of movement: Liberal MPs and senators, under orders from new leader Justin Trudeau, began posting online their travel and hospitality spending, modelled on cabinet ministers' proactive disclosure, a step in the right direction to be sure, but with little detail. Conservatives say they will follow suit.

MPs already post expenses in broad categories covering their office budgets, printing, hospitality costs and use of travel points, but again, with almost no detail.

Yet in June, when the Senate expense scandal was near a boiling point, it seemed the House of Commons was ready to slay its own dragon. The NDP persuaded all MPs to turned their attention towards replacing their closed-door committee for monitoring expenses known as the board of internal economy. The board, or BOIE, is made up of MPs from each party.

The mission was to find some independent body to scrutinize and regulate MPs' expenses

In special hearings, MPs listened to Auditor General Michael Ferguson urge them to allow random audits, "at my discretion," as he put it, of their expenses.

MPs also heard from John Sills of IPSA, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority in the U.K., set up in 2009 after a scandal revealed some British MPs were charging the public for expenses such as moat-cleaning, or were claiming second homes a few miles from their main homes, and then flipping them or renting them out.

Sills explained that IPSA, an organization independent of Parliament, approves MPs' expenses and sets members' pay and pensions. Then it publishes the information — all of it.

The 'exam question'

Some Conservative MPs asked Sills if the same system were adopted here, wouldn't parliamentary staff just have to move over to a new body modelled on IPSA and "basically replicate what they do now under a different organization."

Sills replied that query was what he always called "the exam question." And, he added, "Can you be truly independent if you're in-house?"

In the end, the Conservative majority on the committee recommended keeping the status quo.

MPs will continue having the final, undisclosed word on expenses. Meetings will be held in camera. The Auditor General was shown the door.

Not all MPs went along with preserving the secretive board of internal economy, or shutting out the Auditor General.  The Liberals agreed the board should continue to monitor MP expenses, but asked for an independent commissioner to set salaries and pensions. The NDP dissented, holding out for an independent body.

Neither suggestion was adopted.

Bigger steps taken in the Senate

In the Senate, with members wincing from being viewed as scandal-ridden and way too clubby, bigger steps were taken.

Most significantly, the Senate invited the Auditor General to conduct an audit of every senator's expenses. His first report is possibly a year or more away, but for some senators, inevitably, the iceman cometh.

No such fate awaits MPs. As the clerk of the House of Commons, Audrey O'Brien, reminded the committee debating opening up expenses, MPs have never been audited by the Auditor General. It's "something members have strongly resisted," she testified.

As the year ends, a public wanting to know what true transparency about expenses looks like is left to read the private websites of Conservative senators Doug Black, Bob Runciman and Linda Frum, or Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. These four have decided to publish details of every public penny they spend.

Readers will find that Frum doesn't charge for meals, that Black paid $5.50 for parking, that May has posted more than 300 pages of scanned receipts for everything from postage stamps to office cleaners.

Otherwise, it seems the matter of politicians' expenses has been put back in the closet until the next scandal.

22.40 | 0 komentar | Read More

Senate scandal made Stephen Harper stumble, Tom Mulcair shine

The Senate scandal dominated federal political news in 2013, causing Prime Minister Stephen Harper to stumble while New Democrat Leader Tom Mulcair used his aggressive style to score points.

The controversy over spending by senators Mike Duffy, Patrick Brazeau, Pamela Wallin and Mac Harb gave Mulcair the chance to stand out among MPs — and among the three party leaders — for his pointed, careful questions. Harper, forced on the defensive, faltered and was forced to retreat on his support for his former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, as well as on his assertion that it was Wright alone who knew about the deal to cover Duffy's $90,000 in expenses.

Keith Beardsley, a former deputy chief of staff to Harper, says the Senate scandal was pivotal for Harper.

"It's the first time the government has got themselves into pretty heavy criticism and one I suppose where the population is really paying attention," Beardsley said in an interview with CBC News.

Harper also faced increasing grumbling among his MPs, with several complaining in the House about the Prime Minister's Office limiting their ability to speak in the few minutes allotted to backbenchers, and Edmonton MP Brent Rathgeber quitting caucus.

Even some cabinet ministers disagreed publicly. Employment Minister Jason Kenney and Justice Minister Peter MacKay defended Wright after Harper said he'd fired him, and Kenney spoke out against Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's crack use, despite Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's public support for Ford.

"You can see the backbenchers starting to stir a little bit," Beardsley said, adding there could be more of that to come in 2014 as MPs decide whether they're going to run again in 2015.

"There will be a number that, for all sorts of reasons, decide they don't want to run again, so they're going to have a certain degree of freedom and they're going to want to leave their mark … they don't give a damn what PMO says or anyone else says," he said.

Mulcair excelled

The Senate scandal gave Mulcair the chance to show off his skills in question period, asking sharp questions and highlighting Harper's refusal to answer beyond a few talking points.

Gerry Caplan, a former NDP strategist, said Mulcair has been embraced by the media and even conservative commentators for his question period ability.

Caplan calls it "the splendid and completely irrelevant job he's done in the House in pinning Harper to the wall."

"I say irrelevant because Harper hasn't changed his tune and it doesn't seem politically to be helping the NDP," he said.

The Liberals are ahead of the NDP and even the Conservatives in recent polls, though, as Mulcair pointed out in a year-end press conference, the NDP's previous ceiling in polls is now its floor.

Steve MacKinnon, former Liberal Party national director, agreed that Mulcair kept Harper on his toes in question period.

"I think that his work in the House of Commons has been more or less effective, perhaps not in elevating his own stature, but certainly in keeping this scandal on the front pages and on Canadians' minds. He has at times made the prime minister look very, very bad. And speaking as a Liberal, any time the prime minister looks bad, that's a good day," he said.

Canada-EU trade a bright spot

The tentative trade deal Canada is finalizing with the European Union was the one bright spot for Harper in 2013, although it isn't a done deal.

"There's a lot of heavy lifting to be done, both with the provinces and in terms of settling on final language," said MacKinnon, who handles financial transaction files in his role at Hill & Knowlton Strategies.

"Obviously all judgment on any deal has to be suspended until we see that [final text]. But nonetheless, I think a major trade victory there … one that's pretty good for the country."

While Harper's trade policy drew praise, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, who won the party's leadership race last April, has been criticized for lacking policy ideas. Trudeau says he's consulting with experts and with Canadians.

Caplan said those explanations usually mean a politician doesn't have any policies.

"That's been true for many, many generations of politics," he said.

"Can he get away with it? We don't know. Sometimes you can. Sometimes you bluff it out.… [But] it's very hard to do because the pressure to say something of substance gets pretty strong."

Trudeau exceeded expectations

New Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau appears lacking on the policy front, but has outperformed expectations in drawing popular support. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

MacKinnon said the on-the-ground organizing done by Trudeau's team is under-appreciated. Both Beardsley and Caplan agree Trudeau has done better than expected.

"He still has a way to go in question period. He's not quite there in that," Beardsley said.

"If you look at his first few days versus now, he's much more polished than he was before, so I think he's done well and he's shown that he's got some staying power.

Caplan said he fears Mulcair isn't taking Trudeau as seriously as he should.

Trudeau "has succeeded far beyond what anyone ever thought. I don't know anyone who thought the Liberal Party could come back as far as it appears to have done. Much of it I attribute to him and this astonishing appeal that he has," Caplan said.

"I think [Mulcair] hopes it's a passing ephemeral phenom, which is something that I'm not sure that it is." 

22.40 | 0 komentar | Read More

Botched baby vaccinations prompt alert in N.S.

Patients of Nova Scotia physician William Vitale are being notified that some may need to be vaccinated again after the doctor mixed incompatible vaccines in one syringe and injected them in one shot.

Vitale has had his licence suspended by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia for improperly administering vaccines.

The Capital District Health Authority says people who were vaccinated by Vitale from 1992 to 1994 and from 2003 to present and who were under age 24 months at the time may need to be re-immunized.

On Friday, health officials said Vitale was told to stop the practice by the health authority in 2006. But the authority's medical officer of health said she can't explain how that misconduct was handled.

"I can't speak to what happened in 2006. Why he wasn't followed up," Dr. Robin Taylor said.

And the registrar at the college said he doesn't know why the professional body wasn't notified at the time. Gus Grant, the registrar, said the college first learned of Vitale's conduct on Dec. 11.

Health officials are urging Vitale's patients to get re-vaccinated properly, but say it is not an emergency. Taylor is recommending patients have their first re-vaccination appointment by the end of February.

"Immunizations work to protect us against diseases such as measles, mumps, tetanus and whooping cough and are the best way to stay healthy for years to come," Taylor said.

It may take up to six months for some re-immunizations to be effective.

Patients or parents of patients vaccinated by Vitale during the affected periods should contact their family physician or call 811 for health information.

For those in the Halifax area without a family doctor, a vaccination clinic for former patients of Vitale will start Jan. 8. Appointments are required and can be arranged by calling (902) 481-5813.

Capital Health says patients should not go to emergency rooms or walk-in clinics, because they are not designed to perform routine immunizations.

"Doctors are well-informed on the right way to deliver vaccines, so this is a rare occurrence," said Dr. Frank Atherton, deputy chief public health officer for the provincial Health and Wellness Department.

"Most Nova Scotians are properly immunized. However, it is important that affected patients of this doctor take action to ensure that they are protected against these preventable diseases."

22.40 | 0 komentar | Read More

Head of railway in Lac-Mégantic disaster 'also a victim,' he says

The railway executive behind the company whose train smashed into Lac-Mégantic wants people to know he's been suffering, too.

Looking back at the year as it comes to a close, Ed Burkhardt said he's still troubled by the Quebec derailment and has thought about it every day since the July 6 catastrophe killed 47 people and destroyed part of the town.

The chairman of Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway Ltd. also told The Canadian Press in a recent interview that he's sustained significant personal financial losses since the disaster.

"They had every reason to be very upset with what had occurred," Burkhardt said about the anger directed toward him by the people of Lac-Mégantic.

"But what they didn't know was that I was equally upset and I was also a victim of this whole thing."

Investment wiped out

The chairman of Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway Ltd. also told The Canadian Press in a recent interview that he's sustained significant personal financial losses since the disaster.

Burkhardt, who said he is the largest shareholder in the now-insolvent MMA, explained that he lost his entire investment after the crash forced the company to file for bankruptcy protection.

"That's a big pile of money, I might say," Burkhardt, the president of MMA parent company Rail World Inc., said in a phone interview from his Illinois office.

"It's reduced me from being a fairly well-off guy to one that's just getting by. But OK, that's what happens."

He added, however, that he wasn't complaining about the hit he took to his bottom line, insisting he didn't want to criticize the people of Lac-Mégantic because "they went through hell."

"[Financial losses are] not in the same category as the personal losses, the deaths and all of that, that people suffered in Lac-Mégantic," he said.

Burkhardt's frequently blunt remarks, often lacking public-relations massaging and sentimentalism, made him public enemy No. 1 last summer in Lac-Mégantic.

His brief stop in the town in the aftermath is perhaps best-remembered for his tumultuous news conference, during which he was heckled by irate locals.

Heavily criticized

Burkhardt, who also faced criticism for waiting more than four days before visiting the town after the crash, had anticipated the rough reception. He defended his delayed appearance, saying he was dealing with the crisis from his office.

Before travelling to Lac-Mégantic, Burkhardt even quipped that he'd probably have to wear a bulletproof vest during his visit.

Burkhardt displayed his straight-shooting style in the middle of the news conference when a reporter asked him how much he was worth, financially. He replied: "A whole lot less than I was Saturday [the day of the derailment]."

Reflecting on his reputation in Lac-Mégantic, Burkhardt believes local anger was directed at him because, as chairman, he was the voice of the company.

"I think I assumed too much of a personal role up there, so I guess I was the magnet for all of the people's unhappiness, which is not terribly surprising," the railway boss said.

He then repeated an allegation he first made publicly at that July news conference: the train driver didn't do his job properly the night of the disaster.

"They view me terribly, but I wasn't the guy who didn't set the brakes on the train," he said.

Burkhardt has alleged that the driver did not apply enough handbrakes before the train broke loose and barrelled about 10 kilometres down a hill into Lac-Mégantic.

Train driver did not respond

Tom Harding, the train's driver, was suspended by MMA following the accident. Harding's lawyer did not respond to a request to comment on Burkhardt's allegation.

Firefighters from the neighbouring town of Nantes have said they responded to a blaze on board the train hours before it came off the tracks in Lac-Mégantic. MMA has suggested the fire department's decision to shut off the locomotive to extinguish the fire might have disabled its air brakes.

Police and federal transport safety officials are conducting investigations into the crash.

In the months since the disaster, Burkhardt says he's questioned whether his trains should have ever been transporting crude oil.

"I've asked myself a number of times as to whether we should have been handling this oil at all," Burkhardt said.

"Hindsight is 20-20 vision, so at this point I wish we hadn't been handling oil. We would have obviously not been exposed to such a situation."

MMA stopped hauling oil after the crash, but Burkhardt noted that other Rail World operations in Europe have continued to transport other highly explosive cargoes, like propane.

Canadian authorities have indicated that the deadly oil in Lac-Mégantic proved to be as flammable as gasoline, though it had been improperly labelled as something less volatile.

"There's always going to be risks in handling dangerous commodities," he said.

"You try to minimize those risks, you try to manage your company well, so that those risks are low. But the risks are never zero."

Burkhardt said he welcomes the fresh debates over regulations for the rail industry, as long as any eventual changes are harmonized in Canada and the United States.

For example, he thinks tank-car construction needs to be improved, though due to the high costs he expects any transition to a more-durable tanker to take a long time.

He also encouraged more testing of operating employees, with particular attention placed on brake management and in preventing runaway trains.

Still, he thinks it should be up to railway managers to enforce any changes, rather than a heavier-handed approach by regulators.

"I put the pressure on the management, not on the regulator," Burkhardt said.

"I don't want the regulator telling me what to do. I want to figure this out within management."

MMA and Rail World executives, including Burkhardt himself, are among those named in pending lawsuits in Canada and the United States over the Lac-Mégantic​ crash.

The insolvent MMA has filed for bankruptcy protection and is now under trusteeship, though it continues to manage its day-to-day operations. MMA is expected to be sold off in the coming weeks.

There are concerns in Lac-Mégantic that a new owner could eventually resume oil shipments in the area. MMA's train service recently returned to the community, though it will no longer carry dangerous freight through town.

Burkhardt said the railway's next owner will need additional traffic along the line for it to be profitable. It will be up to them, he added, to decide whether to start hauling crude oil again.

On that question, he doesn't think the door should be forever closed to moving oil on the MMA line.

Burkhardt said MMA's decision to stop handling oil after the derailment was made easy by the fact it was unlikely to be commercially viable under the circumstances.

"Obviously, the shippers were just as horrified as we were by what occurred and probably wouldn't have used our services anyway," he said.

"Although the risks of moving over some other railroad to destination are probably just as great."

22.40 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ice storm aftermath: warm weather brings more outages

More than 30,000 customers in Ontario and New Brunswick remain in the dark one week after a major ice storm blanketed Central and Atlantic Canada, and warming temperatures have caused new power outages in Toronto.

Toronto Hydro CEO Anthony Haines said early Saturday that melting ice falling from trees and other structures has led to fresh damage. At about 1 a.m. ET the number of customers without power had dropped below 20,000 for the first time, but by 8 a.m. it was back up to around 23,000.

"Over the morning hours we've been moving backwards, but I'm sure our crews will attend to those and we'll start moving in the right direction again over the next couple of hours," he told CBC News Network.

Haines couldn't provide a guess for when the power would be restored to everybody. He said computer simulations have shown three days, but that there are variables at work like the new outages and the arrival of more crews. The provincial utility, Hydro One, said the outages outside Toronto are largely over, which has allowed it to send crews in to help the city.

"I'm hopeful certainly by the early part of next week the vast majority of customers will be back," Haines said.

Haines, who noted that the average Toronto Hydro customer is equivalent to 2½ people, said his heart goes out to those without power but that crews are working as fast as they can. 

"I understand the difficulties that not having electricity brings, but what we can do is work around the clock and we can bring extra resources in from far and wide, which is what we've done, and we will not stop until the power is on for everybody," he said. "What we can do is what we can do, I suppose."

Haines stressed the enormous scope of the damage:

• Forty per cent of the city's power lines, which would cross Canada twice, have been affected by the storm.
• Thirty-thousand pieces of equipment have been installed back into the grid and about 47,000 metres of cable have gone back up into the air.
• The City of Toronto says about 20 per cent of the city's tree canopy has been damaged and it could take seven weeks to clean up all the fallen limbs, Haines said. 

Amid the rising anger and frustration of those still in the dark, utility companies are pleading for patience, saying crews are working around the clock and nothing else can be done to speed up the process.

That's little consolation for people who have been in the dark for a week, including Carmen Andronesu, who is one of more than 1,000 residents who live in a condo complex in Toronto's north end.

"No matter how much you try calling here and there, it's like you cannot find help from anywhere," she said.

Wynne promises help for food spoilage

In a morning news conference, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said the concern she's heard most around the province is spoiled food. She said she's looking at providing help and would offer details over the next couple of days when a plan had been confirmed.

"We've reached out to food suppliers to try to come up with a way of compensating people and getting some extra food — or food vouchers, something to folks, so that's what we're working out over the next couple of days," she said.

12,000 without power in N.B.

About 12,000 customers in New Brunswick are also struggling through a long power outage, mostly in St. Stephen and the Saint John area.

About 23,000 customers were still without power in Toronto on Saturday morning. (Mark Blinch/Reuters)

In the rural southern New Brunswick community of Titusville, people without power have been heading to the generator-powered general store to buy kerosene, propane, candles and water. 

Owner Mark Carline said the storm and outage has caused him to reflect.

"I think we were all reminded and humbled by the fact that at any given time we could be set back to this state, where we're scrambling [to get] the basic necessities."

In Quebec, the outages are almost over: Hydro-Québec tweeted late Friday night that they were "almost there" with only about 400 customers left who needed power restored.

22.40 | 0 komentar | Read More

Senate scandal made Stephen Harper stumble, Tom Mulcair shine

The Senate scandal dominated federal political news in 2013, causing Prime Minister Stephen Harper to stumble while New Democrat Leader Tom Mulcair used his aggressive style to score points.

The controversy over spending by senators Mike Duffy, Patrick Brazeau, Pamela Wallin and Mac Harb gave Mulcair the chance to stand out among MPs — and among the three party leaders — for his pointed, careful questions. Harper, forced on the defensive, faltered and was forced to retreat on his support for his former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, as well as on his assertion that it was Wright alone who knew about the deal to cover Duffy's $90,000 in expenses.

Keith Beardsley, a former deputy chief of staff to Harper, says the Senate scandal was pivotal for Harper.

"It's the first time the government has got themselves into pretty heavy criticism and one I suppose where the population is really paying attention," Beardsley said in an interview with CBC News.

Harper also faced increasing grumbling among his MPs, with several complaining in the House about the Prime Minister's Office limiting their ability to speak in the few minutes allotted to backbenchers, and Edmonton MP Brent Rathgeber quitting caucus.

Even some cabinet ministers disagreed publicly. Employment Minister Jason Kenney and Justice Minister Peter MacKay defended Wright after Harper said he'd fired him, and Kenney spoke out against Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's crack use, despite Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's public support for Ford.

"You can see the backbenchers starting to stir a little bit," Beardsley said, adding there could be more of that to come in 2014 as MPs decide whether they're going to run again in 2015.

"There will be a number that, for all sorts of reasons, decide they don't want to run again, so they're going to have a certain degree of freedom and they're going to want to leave their mark … they don't give a damn what PMO says or anyone else says," he said.

Mulcair excelled

The Senate scandal gave Mulcair the chance to show off his skills in question period, asking sharp questions and highlighting Harper's refusal to answer beyond a few talking points.

Gerry Caplan, a former NDP strategist, said Mulcair has been embraced by the media and even conservative commentators for his question period ability.

Caplan calls it "the splendid and completely irrelevant job he's done in the House in pinning Harper to the wall."

"I say irrelevant because Harper hasn't changed his tune and it doesn't seem politically to be helping the NDP," he said.

The Liberals are ahead of the NDP and even the Conservatives in recent polls, though, as Mulcair pointed out in a year-end press conference, the NDP's previous ceiling in polls is now its floor.

Steve MacKinnon, former Liberal Party national director, agreed that Mulcair kept Harper on his toes in question period.

"I think that his work in the House of Commons has been more or less effective, perhaps not in elevating his own stature, but certainly in keeping this scandal on the front pages and on Canadians' minds. He has at times made the prime minister look very, very bad. And speaking as a Liberal, any time the prime minister looks bad, that's a good day," he said.

Canada-EU trade a bright spot

The tentative trade deal Canada is finalizing with the European Union was the one bright spot for Harper in 2013, although it isn't a done deal.

"There's a lot of heavy lifting to be done, both with the provinces and in terms of settling on final language," said MacKinnon, who handles financial transaction files in his role at Hill & Knowlton Strategies.

"Obviously all judgment on any deal has to be suspended until we see that [final text]. But nonetheless, I think a major trade victory there … one that's pretty good for the country."

While Harper's trade policy drew praise, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, who won the party's leadership race last April, has been criticized for lacking policy ideas. Trudeau says he's consulting with experts and with Canadians.

Caplan said those explanations usually mean a politician doesn't have any policies.

"That's been true for many, many generations of politics," he said.

"Can he get away with it? We don't know. Sometimes you can. Sometimes you bluff it out.… [But] it's very hard to do because the pressure to say something of substance gets pretty strong."

Trudeau exceeded expectations

New Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau appears lacking on the policy front, but has outperformed expectations in drawing popular support. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

MacKinnon said the on-the-ground organizing done by Trudeau's team is under-appreciated. Both Beardsley and Caplan agree Trudeau has done better than expected.

"He still has a way to go in question period. He's not quite there in that," Beardsley said.

"If you look at his first few days versus now, he's much more polished than he was before, so I think he's done well and he's shown that he's got some staying power.

Caplan said he fears Mulcair isn't taking Trudeau as seriously as he should.

Trudeau "has succeeded far beyond what anyone ever thought. I don't know anyone who thought the Liberal Party could come back as far as it appears to have done. Much of it I attribute to him and this astonishing appeal that he has," Caplan said.

"I think [Mulcair] hopes it's a passing ephemeral phenom, which is something that I'm not sure that it is." 

22.40 | 0 komentar | Read More

Crews search river area for missing Ontario boy

Emergency crews in Ontario's Waterloo region are scouring the Nith River area of the community of New Hamburg for a missing boy who apparently left his parents' home without a jacket and headed toward the river.

Neighbours said the boy is five years old. 

Rescue workers found footprints leading to a hole in the ice by the river's edge, with no footprints heading back.

Police have set up a command centre near the New Hamburg division of the Royal Canadian Legion to co-ordinate the search.

The boy's name has not been released.

22.40 | 0 komentar | Read More

Toronto deputy mayor defends quick trip to Florida

Toronto deputy mayor Norm Kelly took an overnight trip to Florida to be with family over Christmas as pockets of the city, including his own ward, remain in the dark after a weekend ice storm, CBC News has learned.

Kelly, who is Premier Kathleen Wynne's point-man for city affairs, said he left at noon on Christmas Day to visit his last living sibling and returned on the "first flight out" earlier today.

"Quite often in politics you ignore your family," said Kelly. "Over the past several years I've lost two brothers and a sister. My remaining sister is ailing and I just wanted to make contact with family."

'I understand the optics of it, at the same time you try to live a balanced life and I tried to balance the family side of my life with my obvious obligations to the residents of Toronto.'- Toronto Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly

As the 72-year-old Kelly travelled to sunny Tampa, thousands of his constituents in his ward of Scarborough-Agincourt went another day without heat and hydro.

As of late Thursday night, Toronto Hydro confirmed there were 46,000 customers without power, down from 300,000 after the storm hit overnight last Saturday.

When asked by CBC Toronto if he regrets the decision, Kelly said he regrets the controversy his trip caused but he "would have gone to North Bay. It didn't matter where it was.

"I understand the optics of it, at the same time you try to live a balanced life and I tried to balance the family side of my life with my obvious obligations to the residents of Toronto," he said.

The decision to travel south was met with mixed emotions from those calling into local Toronto radio shows, or voicing their opinions online.

Kelly said he kept in touch with city officials and residents while he was away.

"I was in touch with the emergency committee. I answered all the emails that came into me during that time. Responded to all the texts and that's in essence how I continued to do my business," he said.

Despite being at all the city briefings about the storm since Sunday, Kelly was absent at Wednesday's 11 a.m. news conference - the same day he travelled to Florida.

"I'm not into press conferences as some other people are," he said. "I prefer my contribution to be solid and important."

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was grilled at a Toronto Community Housing barbecue at 400 McCowan Avenue, near Eglinton Avenue E., on Thursday where residents remained without power.

With cameras rolling, one angry resident told the mayor: "You better do something fast ... I'm upstairs freezing my ass off, Mr. Ford."

Ford has maintained there is no reason to issue a state of emergency as hydro crews from as far away as Sault Ste. Marie, Windsor, Ottawa and Manitoba work around the clock.

Part of the powers handed to Kelly by city council would be to lead the city if a state of emergency were to be called.

22.40 | 0 komentar | Read More

Toronto ice storm: Thousands begin Day 6 without power

With thousands of Toronto residents now in their sixth day without heat and electricity in freezing temperatures, some say they're reaching the breaking point. Despite this, many will likely not have power restored for at least a few more days.

CBC's Travis Dhanraj spoke to people Thursday who've been without heat and power since Sunday's devastating ice storm hit.

The storm knocked out power to more than 250,000 customers. As of Friday morning, Toronto Hydro reported that 32,400 customers are still without power while crews work around the clock to repair damaged lines.

Toronto Hydro crews are working around the clock to repair damaged power lines, six days after the ice storm struck. (Charlsie Agro/CBC)

Among the thousands still without power is George Sabourin and his wife Carole Anne Marie. They have no heat or power in their Victoria Park apartment. Worse, the water was shut off to prevent pipes from freezing.

"All my food is spoiled. I have to throw everything out in the fridge," Carole Anne Marie said. The city has set up warming centres across the city, but the Sabourins say they won't go because they're worried about their pets. (The city has confirmed with CBC News that pets are welcome at city warming centres: Dogs must be leashed and cats must be in a crate).

And while residents become increasingly frustrated, Toronto Hydro says they're working around the clock to restore power.

Full restoration likely days away

Spokesperson Tanya Bruckmueller said that while large blocks of power have been restored, crews are now into the slower work of reconnecting individual buildings. She said it may still be a few days before all customers have power.

Scarborough remains the hardest hit area of the city, with pockets of outages remaining in North York, Don Mills and the West end. In some cases, Toronto Hydro workers have been slowed by fallen trees and branches that litter many streets.

Bruckmueller also asked residents not "engage" work crews with questions.

"We want to make sure our crews can concentrate on the work that they're doing," she said Friday in an interview on CBC News Network. "They don't have any more information than what's out there. The faster they get the work done, the faster everybody gets power back."

Bruckmueller also said some residents may see their power restored, then shut off again. In many cases this is a good sign, and a possible indication that crews are working in their area.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is expected to provide an update on the storm situation at 11 a.m. Friday.

City warming centres

Dennis R Timbrell Community Centre, 29 St. Denis Dr. (Eglinton/Don Mills)
Malvern Community Centre, 30 Sewells Rd. (Neilson/Finch)
Driftwood Community Centre, 4401 Jane St. (between Finch and Steeles)
Mitchell Field Community Centre, 89 Church Ave. (Yonge/Finch)
Joseph P Piccininni Community Centre, 1369 St Clair Ave. W. (St Clair/Keele)
Matty Eckler Community Centre, 953 Gerrard St. E. (Pape/Gerrard)
Lawrence Heights Middle School, 50 Highland Hill (between Ranee and Dane)
Edithvale Community Centre, 131 Finch Ave. W. (between Bathurst and Yonge)
Pleasantview Community Centre, 545 Van Horne Ave. (between Edmonton and Brian)
East York Collegiate Institute, 650 Cosburn Ave. (Coswell/Coxwell)
McGregor Park Community Centre, 2231 Lawrence Ave. E. (Lawrence/Kennedy)

In addition, 13 Toronto Police Service facilities have been identified as having community rooms available for use 24/7 as warming centres:

Division 11 – 2054 Davenport Road (Davenport/Osler)
Division 12 – 200 Trethewey Drive (Trethewey/Black Creek)
Division 14 – 350 Dovercourt Road (College/Dovercourt)
Division 22 – 3699 Bloor Street West (Bloor West/Dundas West)
Division 23 – 5230 Finch Avenue West (Kipling/Finch)
Division 31 – 40 Norfinch Road (Norfinch/Finch West)
Division 33 – 50 Upjohn Road (York Mills/Don Mills)
Division 42 – 242 Milner Avenue (Milner/Markham)
Division 43 – 4331 Lawrence Ave. E (Lawrence Ave. E/ Kingston Road)
Division 51 – 51 Parliament Street (Front/Parliament)
Division 52 - 255 Dundas Street West (LOBBY ONLY)
Toronto Police Service College – 70 Birmingham Street (Birmingham/Fifth)
Toronto Police Service Headquarters – 40 College Street (College/Bay)

Source: City of Toronto

22.40 | 0 komentar | Read More

Canadian retailers adapt to competitive new reality

Manu U.S. retailers are planning to launch in Canada in 2014. (AP)

There is little doubt the retail landscape in Canada is changing as increasing numbers of big name U.S. chains shop for customers north of the border.

And, according to retail experts, just who wins the competition for the pocketbooks of Canadians in 2014 is likely to be decided by who is perceived to be offering the best deals.

"The environment overall remains very competitive. The one who can offer the best value is probably the one who's going to gain the most market share," said Brian Yarbrough, a retail analyst with Edward Jones.

"It's just the nature of where we've been lately. It seems that people are very focused on value and they're focused on deals and I think that will continue," Yarbrough said.

Target launch

The competition in Canada has been intense this year as Target became the latest big American chain to invade the Canadian retail space, having now rolled out 124 stores across the country.

Domestic retailers countered by consolidating at a frenzied pace in an effort to lower overall costs and increase their buying power with manufacturers as they attempt to keep up not only with Target but also the likes of Walmart and Costco.

The grocery segment was particularly active, as Loblaws struck a deal to buy Shoppers Drug Mart for $12.4 billion in cash and stock and Sobeys bought the Canadian assets of U.S. grocer Safeway for $5.8 billion.

Online retailer Amazon even got into the mix, announcing it would begin delivering food directly to Canadians' doorsteps.

In other development in the retail sector, department store chain Sears Canada announced a turnaround plan that included laying off staff and the sale of valuable assets, while Hudson's Bay Co. continued to go upscale, striking a $2.9-billion deal to buy Saks Inc. and bring it to Canada.

Luxury retailer Nordstrom is also set to enter Canada next year and moving into some of the locations vacated by Sears.

Move upmarket

Canada isn't home to as many upscale retailers as the U.S. and that could present an opportunity for growth in the sector, especially as stock markets have improved, boosting confidence among wealthier consumers.

But even that environment remains competitive, Yarbrough added, noting that "even in the luxury space you're seeing discounting going on."

Meanwhile, Graeme McVie, vice-president and manager of business development at marketing and research firm LoyaltyOne, said consumers may be looking for value, but that doesn't mean they're going to see it only in the price of the goods they buy.

Stores can also encourage traffic by being well organized and stocked and by providing good service. For example, they can help clients set up the electronic devices they buy, something they wouldn't get shopping online at a discount.

Even promotions themselves aren't always what they seem, McVie added.

"The savvier retailers are using that (promotions) to grab headlines and drive overall price perceptions, but those discounts don't always apply as much as you'd like to believe."

"Not all the products are discounted to same degree and some of the prices are only available at specific times," he noted.

Winners and losers

Ken Wong, a marketing professor at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., said whether or not consumers come out as the winners in the current price-driven environment depends on what they're looking for.

"If what you look for is low price then it is unquestionably a good thing, because bigger stores, on the range of merchandise that they carry, always have lower prices," said Wong.

"But you're not going to find more esoteric, more specialty type products in a big box store relative to a local store, nor are you usually going to find in a big box store products that are unique to local tastes."

What smaller businesses can offer are those local products, more personal service and, in some cases, more convenient locations.

"Where small stores get into trouble is when they try to go head-to-head with a big box store, especially on price, because they just can't sustain their operation at that margin, their costs are too high," Wong said.

Value matters

Fiona Story of the Yellow Pages Group, which has been working to promote local business through an event called Shop The Neighbourhood, agreed that competitive pressures mean small businesses have to get more creative to lure customers.

"There's actually a need for small businesses to up their visibility and take advantage of other channels, particularly digital marketing channels that they may not have necessarily been considering before," Story said.

And deals offered by local retailers don't always have to be huge, she said. For example, during one recent marketing event the store's deal was a free balloon for anyone who visited, and people went.

"There is a desire to support the local businesses in your neighbourhood, but people are busy so sometimes we just need that recall or reason to get out there and to do it," she said.

22.40 | 0 komentar | Read More