Tesla V3 Superchargers coming to Canada

Only a few months ago Tesla unveiled its first V3 Supercharger capable of charging some Tesla Model 3s at the rate of 250kW allowing a gain of 75 miles in just five minutes of charging.

Tesla is making progress in a concentrated buildout of the V3 Superchargers

The first concentrated buildout of the superchargers will be in Canada along the Trans-Canada highway with 26 of the 46 chargers along the cross Canada route being the V3 Superchargers. A recent article notes: "With the latest expansion of the Supercharger network, Tesla is starting to finally build its long-awaited Trans-Canada Supercharger route to enable coast-to-coast travel in the great white north. Tesla’s Supercharger network in Canada has been limited to enable travel between a few large metropolitan areas. Unlike in the US, Canadian Tesla owners couldn’t solely rely on Tesla’s own fast-charging network to go across the country."

However, even with these added chargers there will still be gaps with only one V3 in all of Saskatchewan. In Ontario north of Lake Superior along the trans-Canada there will be no V3 chargers except one at Thunder Bay it appears.

Tesla says it plans to launch the V3 chargers in Europe and Asia in the fourth quarter of this year.

Fast-charging network has grown enormously

Since the first Supercharger station was introduced back in 2012 Tesla has built up one of the largest networks of EV chargers in the world. There are 14,081 superchargers across 1,604 stations in 36 different countries.

Since that first fast charger made its debut in 2011 there have been more than 30 million charging sessions on them. There is an average of 64,000 sessions a day or 2.25 GWh of energy a day. The average charging session is about 35kWh even though battery capacities range from 50kWh to 100kWh. Many customers charge only enough to get them to where they are going but do not fully charge the battery. No doubt some also fully charge while the battery still had plenty of charge.

ChargePoint

In comparison to Tesla, ChargePoint one of the most widely distributed global charging networks has more than 1,476 fast chargers throughout the world and 100,700 chargers altogether. The company based in California says it has powered more than 62,879,120 charging sessions in the 12 years since it was founded.

However, Charge Point has mostly slower level 2 chargers so that over the 12 years it has delivered a total of just 563,125MWh worth of energy whereas the Tesla Superchargers can match that output in about 250 days. The average Chargepoint charging session is close to only 9kWh.

The solar panel plans for the Superchargers

Tesla planned to outfit its Superchargers with solar panels from Solar City which it later acquired. It planned to generate more electricity from the solar panels than the Superchargers used. However, only about six of the stations were hooked up to solar panels in 2017. Tesla has yet to see a fully off-grid Supercharger setup. So far there is nothing like what CEO Elon Musk had originally conceived.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Canada loses billions in revenue due to tax loopholes favoring the rich

New data released by Finance Canada shows that the amount of revenue the government lost through tax loopholes mostly benefiting the very rich has risen sharply since last year.

The annual Federal Report of the Department of Finance on tax expenditures shows the government is losing many billions of dollars in tax revenue through a number of tax loopholes. We look at three main loopholes. Five loopholes are discussed in this article.

Partial inclusion of capital gains

Capital gains are treated differently than wages for tax purposes. An article in National News explains: "Income from capital gains, usually made as profits from the sale of financial assets such as stocks and bonds as well as non-owner occupied real estate, is not treated in the same way for personal income tax purposes as income from employment. While 100% of wages is included in taxable income, just one half of capital gains income are taxable. The cost to the federal government of this special tax break is significant, almost $6 billion ($5.95 billion) in 2016 according to the Department of Finance. Provincial government revenues are also reduced."

Research published in the Canadian Tax Journal in 2015 found that 87 percent of all the benefits from this loophole went to people earning $200,000 or more. The latest data shows that this loophole cost the government $6.9 billion in 2017 up a whole billion from 2016. Finance Canada estimates that the amount will rise further to $7.07 billion by the end of 2018.

Dividend gross-up

This loophole compensates stockholders for taxes that are paid by companies they have invested in. According to the latest data a full 91 percent of benefits go to the richest ten percent of Canadians. Half of the amount goes just to the top one percent of richest Canadians. Given that Canadian corporate tax rates are at historic lows, it is hard to see the logic in the loophole. Perhaps, it is meant to encourage people to buy stocks.

This loophole lost Canada $5 billion in revenue in 2017. This was up from $4.4 billion in 2016. This year it is projected to reach $5.3 billion according to Finance Canada.

Stock Options

This loophole is much used by corporate executives and directors who compensate themselves in stocks rather than salary to take advantage of the lower tax rate. When employees of a company exercise their stock options, they are taxed only upon 50 percent of the total value of the stocks.

The Liberal government promised during the last election that it would close this loophole. The Liberal platform even cited Finance Canada's data which showed that three quarters of the benefits went to 8,000 very high income Canadians.

However, following the election the Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced that the government had changed its mind. He claimed that this was in response to small tech feedback. However, internal documents show that it was probably due to Bay Street lobbyists' influence.

Some claim that the stock options loophole is falling out of favor. However data shows that after a brief decline during the last election it is again increasing, no doubt because it still exists. The loophole saved $530 million in 2016 but $635 million in 2017. By 2019 it is expected it will cost Canada $740 million in lost revenue.

There are many other ways of avoiding taxes such as using tax havens as discussed in the appended video.

Previously published in Digital Journal

Canadian government to spend $25 million over 3 years on aid to green agricultural technology

The Trudeau government will dedicate $25 million over three years to aid the agricultural sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the adoption of green technology. The program will begin on April 1st of this year.

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Provinces as well as territories are eligible to apply for this federal funding and are encouraged to cooperate with industry on projects focusing on precision agriculture and bioproducts.

Precision agriculture

Precision agriculture (PA), sometimes called satellite farming, or site specific crop management (SSCM), manages crop production by observing, measuring, and responding to inter-field and intra-field variability of crops. The goal of precision agriculture is to create a decision support system of management for the entire farm that will optimize returns on inputs while preserving resources.

New satellite technology is crucial to much of precision agriculture although surveillance drones are also of use. Wikipedia describes the technology: "The practice of precision agriculture has been enabled by the advent of GPS and GNSS... This data is used in conjunction with satellite imagery by variable rate technology (VRT) including seeders, sprayers, etc. to optimally distribute resources."

The use of some of these technologies by a Saskatchewan farmer was reported in a Digital Journal article last year. The Western Producer newspaper also has an article on precision agriculture on the Canadian prairies.

Government statements on funding cleantech

Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture ad Agri-Food said: “This investment will help Canadian farmers stay on the cutting edge of clean technology by targeting developments in bioproducts and precision agriculture. Our government has made both agriculture and clean technology a priority for growth in our economy. This new program will contribute to Canada’s place as a world leader in agricultural clean technology, helping farmers to develop new and efficient uses of energy, while also protecting our environmental resources and mitigating climate change.”

The government also notes that a further $155 million will also be provided by Natural Resources Canada for research, development, and demonstration projects of clean technology.

In the 2017 budget the government announced a number of clean technology programs and initiatives. $130 million was directed to cleantech research and development. $400 million over 5 years funds the Sustainable Development Fund that focuses on cleantech projects. Finally, $14.5 million over four years is used to develop Clean Technology Data Strategy.

Previously published in Digital Journal

Facebook rolls out Facebook Lite in the US and several other new countries

Facebook Lite is a version of Facebook specifically designed for developing countries. The version is now being rolled out in a number of more countries including developed countries such as the United States.

Facebook Lite is designed to run on 2G networks. The lite version is meant for people with older Android devices or slower Internet connections. Messenger Lite is a companion version of Messenger with the same purpose. Those with slower mobile data connections even in developed countries will find Facebook Lite useful.

Facebook Lite was first launched in 2015

Then the version was tested in a number of countries: Bangladesh, Nepal Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. However, it is now available in over 100 countries..

Other countries besides the U.S. included in the new rollout are: Canada, Australia, U.K., France, Germany, Ireland and New Zealand.

Facebook said: “We’ve seen that even in some developed markets people can have lower connectivity, so we want to make sure everyone has the option to use this app if they want.” The app became available for download yesterday.

The app will be available for download from Thursday.

Facebook has always tried to cater to customers who have poor internet connections. Facebook Lite provides a dedicated app for this purpose. It is just 252 kilobytes in size and designed specifically to work on 2G networks and places where there is poor connectivity.

App may help Facebook keep growing

In order to increase its customer base, Facebook needs to attract users where connectivity is poor. There are cheap phones becoming available in developing countries and prices are failing to as little as $30 a device. Countries such as Bangladesh, Nigeria and Vietnam are among the countries where smartphone use is growing fastest. Not surprisingly, these are among the countries Facebook Lite will serve. Creating a 2G-optimized app for Androic applications makes good sense for Facebook.

Facebook Lite can be downloaded free here and at a number of other sites.

Previously published in Digital Journal

Opposition to Canadian government's Iraq mission appears not to change support for Liberal party

Both Liberal leader Justin Trudeau who is leading in recent federal polls and Thomas Mulcair of the New Democratic Party(NDP) voted against the bombing mission of Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Iraq.

Two recent polls indicate that a majority of Canadians support Canada's Iraq mission and also Stephen Harper's judgment on the matter. Yet, as an article by Eric Grenier indicates, the results do not clearly show that Trudeau's position on Iraq has had any negative effect on support for the Liberal party. An EKOS research survey shows that 58 per cent of Canadians strongly or somewhat support Canada's Iraq mission while only 39 per cent are opposed.
As usual with such results the polls actually show that most Canadians 58 per cent favor a "non-military response such as aid and assistance to refugees" a position supported by both opposition parties. 21 per cent favored limiting the response to airstrikes where another 23 per cent wanted a "fuller military response including airstrikes and ground combat". The last two positions favoring a military mission add up to only 44 per cent, less than a majority.
 Another poll by Abacus Data showed that 54 per cent thought that Prime Minister Harper showed good or at least acceptable judgment in dealing with the IS threat with only 23 per cent thinking that he had shown poor judgment. Note that a considerable number in these polls said they did not have sufficient information to make a judgment. For both Mulcair and Trudeau 39 per cent of respondents said that they had shown good or acceptable judgment. However, more thought Trudeau's judgment was poor, 28 per cent while just 19 per cent thought this for Mulcair. Opposition to the Canadian mission in Iraq was strongest among New Democrats at 60 per cent.
 Support was strongest among Conservatives at 90 per cent but Liberals showed a slight majority in favor with only 45 per cent opposed according to an Ekos poll. The EKOS poll showed that the Liberal party still had the support of nearly 39 per cent, almost the same as the last two polls. The support for the Conservatives and New Democrats remained about the same. This suggests that the issue has had little or no impact on support for any party.
As often happens with polls however, the results of the Abacus survey indicate a drop this week in Liberal support to 32 per cent, six points lower than the 38 per cent they had back in September in contrast to the EKOS poll. Yet these results when looked at in depth make the situation even less clear. The fall in Liberal support was worst in Ontario where they dropped from 41 per cent to 32 per cent just two per cent more than the Conservatives. However, the New Democrats are the party that gained nine points, and they are also the party most opposed to the Canadian Iraq mission.
Over the last five months Liberals averaged 43 per cent in Ontario polls with the NDP at only 18 per cent. Surely the conclusion one could draw from this is that opposing the Iraq mission is the way to gain support since the NDP are most opposed. Detailed descriptions of the surveys is given at the end of this article.
 The next federal election in Canada is scheduled for Oct. 19 2015 almost a year away. The three main party standings in the most recent Abacus poll on October 17 in percentage support were: Conservatives 30; NDP 25; Liberals 32. In contrast the EKOS poll just two days earlier showed: Conservatives 26.4; NDP 25; Liberals 38.5. If the present trends continue it looks as if the Conservatives will lose their majority government but not to the NDP who are at present the main opposition but to the Liberal party. The Iraq mission so far seems not to be much of an issue.

Canadian government grants greater powers to spy agency

The Canadian Conservative government of Stephen Harper has announced that it will increase the powers of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service(CSIS) the main spy agency in Canada.

The Minister of Public Safety Stephen Blaney said the legislation would give the CSIS more power to investigate terrorist threats outside Canada — and also to protect the identity of informants working for CSIS. Blaney referred to the advance of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq as showing the need to increase the powers of CSIS:"The events in recent months in Iraq and Syria have shown us that we cannot become complacent in the face of terrorism. Now more than ever, a motivated individual or a group of extremists with access to technology can do significant harm to Canada from thousands of miles away." Blaney claimed that the new legislation will allow CSIS to track and investigate potential terrorists when they travel outside Canada which could ultimately lead to prosecution.
Blaney claims that the government as of early 2014 the government knew of 130 individuals with connections to Canada who were suspected of engaging in terrorist activities. Eighty of these suspects had already returned to Canada and were being investigated. The legislation would allow CSIS to work more closely with the Five Eyes spy group that includes Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. The legislation would allow CSIS to obtain information from the other four "eyes" on Canadians suspected of fighting with terrorist groups abroad. In turn CSIS could provide other members with information on their citizens in Canada.
The FIve Eyes(FVEY) is described by whistleblower and former US National Security Agency contractor as a "supra-national intelligence organisation that does not answer to the laws of its own countries." : Documents leaked by Snowden in 2013 revealed that the FVEY have been intentionally spying on one another's citizens and sharing the collected information with each other in order to circumvent restrictive domestic regulations on spying. The new Canadian legislation will make legal what CSIS had been doing all along even though it was against the law. CSIS has been subject to a number of criticisms. The Maher Arar report criticised CSIS for not sufficiently subjecting material obtained through torture to critical analysis. A CSIS mole infiltrated a Canadian white supremacist movement from 1988 to 1994 the Heritage Front. Not only was the mole, Grant Bristow, one of the founders of the group, but he ensured that CSIS funds came to the group.
The new CSIS headquarters in Ottawa will be the most expensive government building ever built in Canada. As an October 2013 CBC article noted: While the Harper government is preaching government austerity, it is spending almost $1.2 billion on a new Ottawa headquarters for a little-known military spy agency. The expenditure shows the priority that the government gives to its spy agency.
Two lawyers with a great deal of experience defending clients involving security told the CBC that the blanket protection given to protect sources might cause court proceedings to be unfair to those accused. Lawyer Norm Boxal, who represents an Algerian refugee in a security case, said: "These types of privileges can have far-reaching effects, and can close off information in cases where it would be important to have.There is no problem to have a secret source — that can be done all the time, and within the existing law. The problem is when you have secret information and you choose to act on it, and that's the difference. If they want to use the secret information to enforce things — [for] deportation, or in criminal trials — they should have to produce the source." Paul Copeland, a Toronto lawyer agreed that giving class privilege to intelligence informants would be "highly dangerous" and claimed that the only way to test evidence was to be able to cross-examine on it.
 Steve Hewitt, a senior lecturer in Canadian and American Studies at the University of Birmingham notes that in passing this legislation Canada is following the UK model rather than that of the US where informants are often brought into court in terrorism cases and subject to rigorous cross-examination. He notes that some informants act out of self-interest and for money. Failing to provide a fair trial for suspected terrorists is not likely to hurt the Harper government politically. The appended video shows the type of overseer Stephen Harper appointed for the CSIS.

Disgraced mayor Rob Ford still manages to be second in Toronto mayoralty race

John Tory, a former leader of the Progressive Conservative party of Ontario, is far in the lead for mayor of the city of Toronto. However scandal-ridden Rob Ford the present mayor is in second, and Olivia Chow of the New Democratic Party is in third.

The latest Forum Research Poll has Tory with 40 percent support, to 28 percent for Ford and just 21 percent for Olivia Chow. Chow has seen her support dwindle in Scarborough in the east end of Toronto from 31 percent in July to nine percent at present lower than the approximately 13 per cent for Ford. The CEO of Forum Research Lorne Bozinoff said of Olivia Chow: “Her support really has been declining over the last two months, and she’s hit a new low now … she’s one of the candidates that wants to replace the Scarborough subway with an LRT, and that’s really costing her support. Not surprisingly, almost all the Chow vote would go to John Tory. None of it really would go to Rob Ford." Chow also is in favor of improving bus services. Chow has now started to call herself the underdog in the race as she lags behind even the disgraced mayor Rob Ford. 

Candidate David Soknacki is withdrawing from the race and has six percent of the vote according to Bozinoff. Three per cent of that vote is expected to go to Chow with two percent to Ford and just one percent to Tory. This will still leave Tory well in the lead. He is leading in every area of the city. The Forum poll was of 1,060 residents using an automated system of interactive voice response phone calls and has a margin of error of three percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.  

Another poll by Nanos Research earlier also showed Tory well in the lead. The poll surveyed 1,000 residents between August 27 to 31. Pollsters asked participants simply who they would vote for if the election were held today. Tory received 42 percent support, Ford 28 per cent and Olivia Chow 26 per cent. David Soknacki who is now withdrawing had three percent. The vote is to be held October 27, so there is still time for the figures to change. Tory is seen by many as the obvious choice to keep out Ford and this may be hurting Chow. Both Tory and Chow are trying to woo Liberal voters. However, the NDP irritated the Liberals by precipitating a provincial election that the Liberals won. The election could have been avoided if the NDP had supported the Liberal budget. The budget had a number of progressive features that many labor groups supported causing some friction within the New Democratic Party.

 Just recently Rob Ford was found to have an abdominal tumor. Tests will be needed to see if the tumor is malignant. There is no indication as yet that he intends to withdraw from the race.

Canadians have record consumer debt levels

Officials have been warning Canadians to cut back on borrowing as consumer debt levels rose but a report issued by TransUnion today (August 23) shows debt is at record levels.

The report shows average non-mortgage debt of Canadians is $26,221 in the second quarter of 2012. This is an increase of 192 dollars from the first quarter. The Credit Bureau began tracking average consumer debt levels only in 2004. The present level is the highest yet.

This is the second consecutive quarter of growth in the average. The growth in debt is happening across Canada except for a slight dip this quarter in Saskatchewan and Alberta has a decreased annual growth.

Mark Carney has consistently warned that the increasing consumer debt levels are a threat to the economy and that levels are too high. However, in the short term this spending will keep the economy afloat. Thomas Higgins of Transunion said:

“When I look at the recent comments from the Bank of Canada, that they don’t foresee there will be a change in interest rates for 12 to 18 months, and now that some of the media attention on Europe’s issues has died down, I would not be surprised to see the latest rise [in debt levels] continue...Maybe people are thinking that they don’t need to tighten their borrowing too much, that they have a bit of leeway.”

The data used to analyse the data includes credit card debt and car loans, installment loans and lines of credit. Although lines of credit are the largest source of non-mortgage debt, in the most recent quarter the largest increase in debt was for car loans. Higgins suggested that during the recession people put off buying big ticket items. Now the the economy is recovering somewhat they are beginning to buy them again.

In spite of the high levels of debt Canadians are repaying debt. Bankruptcies are at historic lows! However if the economy should take a turn for the worse or interest rates rise many Canadians could fall behind in payments as debt payments became much more burdensome. On the other hand if Canadians all suddenly started paying off their debt warns analyst Ben Rabidoux economic growth could slow.

Jeffrey Schwart of Consolidated Credit Counseling Services warned that Canadians need to include debt repayment and savings in their budget and must learn to live within their means. A Bank of Montreal poll showed that 27% of Canadians between 18 to 34 have not started any savings for retirement. Many Canadians also have no money set aside for emergencies.

Given the constant advertising that produces desires for the latest goods and given often readily available credit with low interest rates it should not be too surprising that many Canadians find themselves unable to save any money from one paycheck to the next. Often each month they may find themselves sliding further into debt.

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Severe drought hits parts of U.S. and Canada

The central regions of the U.S lately have experienced both record heat and lack of moisture. Ten states had rainfall totals among their ten driest over a three month period. In Canada there are also some areas of drought.

In Canada most of the prairies have had normal or even above normal rainfall except for isolated areas such as southeast Manitoba. In Ontario the area west of Ottawa has been dry but southwest parts of Ontario have good growing conditions. In the U.S. the story is much worse with up to 63 per cent of areas having moderate or more severe drought conditions. Along with record heat many crops will suffer. The corn crop in the U.S. will be among those most hurt by the drought conditions.
U.S. farmers planted the most corn in over half a century. In an Aug. 7 report the USDA (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture) reports only 23 per cent of the huge crop is in good condition. Last year at the same time the figure was 60 per cent. The price of corn futures soared but have pulled back slightly after rainfall in some districts.
The price of many processed foods may increase although this may not happen until much later in the year or next year. The price of ethanol too will rise. The U.S. and Canada are not the only countries suffering drought. Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan expect drought conditions to shrink their crop by almost 30% from last year. As a result the price of wheat is rising even though North American crops are generally good.
Soybean crops are suffering in the U.S as well. Crops in good or excellent condition are down 32% from last year but improved conditions could help crops recover. Another area also badly hurt by drought is the livestock sector both in Canada and the U.S.
Just 16% of U.S. pasture and ranch land is in good or excellent condition. Last year at the same time the figure was 39%. In Ontario Canada lack of hay has sent prices soaring to three times normal. Near the capital Ottawa Ontario a rancher is selling off some of his herd of horses.. As livestock producers sell off animals to avoid having to feed them over winter with hay prices high, there will be a temporary glut on the market. This makes the situation worse because producers receive lower prices for their animals. Later on the situation will reverse no doubt.
While food price increase may take some time to work their way through the system, Tim Horton's has already decided to raise the price of some of its baked goods by five cents!

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/330437#ixzz233nTq6jd

Australia tops Better Life Index rankings

Australia came up on top of the rankings in the Better Life Index of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) Each of eleven categories were ranked in 36 countries.

In spite of the highest rankings the Labor government of Julia Gillard has low ratings in polls in Australia! However, the Index stats are excellent. Life expectancy is 82 years two years above the OECD average of 80. Employment is also well above the average.

After Australia the next best country is Norway. Coming in a respectable third is the U.S. in spite of having a relatively high unemployment rate. Canada is further behind coming sixth after fourth place Sweden and fifth place Denmark. Turkey was in last place.

The new scale was used beginning in 2011 as a way to measure well being of countries in more ways than simply economic growth. As well as income and education, the scale includes work-life balance and life satisfaction.

Canada shows increasing income inequality. The report notes::"In Canada, the [household net-adjusted disposable income] of the top 20 per cent of the population is 53,988 USD a year, whereas the bottom 20 per cent live on 10,077 USD a year." Canada does not fare well on work-life balance or civic engagement either.

The average voter participation in OECD countries is 73 per cent while Canada is just 61 per cent. For more see this article and also here.

Fidel Castro: "Stephen Harper's Ilusions"

Fidel Castro and Jimmy Carter at funeral of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau

A CBC report here by David Common comments on Fidel Castro.s recent remarks called ""Stephen Harper's Illusions". Common trying to be fair and balanced calls the remarks a rant. While it is true that it is rambling and sometimes polemical the meaning of most of it is not difficult to grasp. The parts critical of the environmental records of Canadian companies in South America are certainly not off base.

There is a video interview with John Kirk a professor of Latin American Studies at Dalhousie which is far more balanced and informative than Common's commentary. Among the comments on the Common's piece is this:"Did anybody actually read Castro's writing? Whether you agree with it or not, what Castro was getting at is really simple to understand." This commentator gives a link to Castro's actual remarks translated into English. You can read for yourself.

David Common finds Castro's ending bewildering and apparently not connected to anything. Here is a quote from Common's article.

""The topic, it seems, is the upcoming Summit of the Americas that Cuba has evidently not been invited to.

"Who could hold back from laughing?" Castro poses, "We must hurry up and tell Harper."

Tell him what exactly? ""

Apparently the meaning of the rambling old man escapes Common who surely must have all his faculties but somehow misses what Castro implies in his ending. Harper has the illusion that he is accepted as an equal by the U.S. But when push comes to shove and Canada is no longer of use to the U.S. or goes against U.S. policy--not a likely scenario under Harper-- he will find out he is not. No doubt the U.S. president could wear a beaver skin hat made in Canada to the summit of the Americas but Harper would not be invited to the meeting. Here is what Castro said on the issue. This puts the ending with reference to Harper in the context necessary to understand what it implies.

"""The guayabera shirts to be worn by Obama in Cartagena has become one of the main issues covered by the news agencies: "Edgar Gomez [...] has designed one for the U.S. President, Barack Obama, who will be wearing it during the Summit of the Americas," said the daughter of the designer, who added: "It is a white, sober guayabera, with a handiwork that is more striking that usual..."

Immediately after that, the news agency added that the Caribbean shirt was first made by the banks of the Yayabo River in Cuba; that is why they were originally called yayaberas.

The curious thing about this, dear readers, is that Cuba has been forbidden to attend that meeting, but not the guayaberas. Who could hold back from laughing? We must hurry up and tell Harper. ""

 Actually there are many views as to where these shirts originated. Some say the Philippines, others Mexico, others still Spain. At any rate they are quite popular in those countries as well as Cuba. See this wikipedia entry. Certainly Castro has to tell us a story to together with his message but it is hardly that opaque and it fits in quite well with the title Stephen Harper's Illusions.

U.S. eleventh in World Happiness Rankings

The Earth Institute a think tank at Columbia University has released its first ever World Happiness Report. According to the report Canada is the fifth-happiest country in the world.

Surprisingly the top 3 are all those dark and dreary northern Scandinavian countries: Denmark, Finland, and Norway in that order.. Then comes the Netherlands close by Denmark. Canada is the happiest outside of Europe. The U.S. missed the top ten and came in at a relatively gloomy eleventh.

The happiest countries are among the wealthier countries and the least happy: Togo, Benin, Central African Republic are among the poorer countries. For much more and a slide show of the happiest countries see this article.

Alberta to receive 1.2 trillion in oil royalties over next 35 years

At least that is the amount calculated by the Canadian Energy Research Institute. At the same time royalties increase so do emissions from oil and gas extraction. Emission amounts are expected to triple over the same time period. See this article.

No doubt Albertans will welcome these projections. The province should be able to have budget surpluses and low taxes. The Institute predicts that oil production will rise from the present 1.6 million barrels a day to 5.4 million barrels a day by 2045.

The report of the Institute notes:“While technological innovation within the oil sands industry (in addition to carbon capture and storage) is expected to help reduce these emissions, the emissions are still expected to rise,” Carbon emissions are projected to increase from 45 million tonnes annually to 159 million tonnes by 2045.

Alberta has roughly 170 million barrels of proven oil reserves. This is the world's third largest supply. Only Saudi Arabia and Venezuela have greater reserves. For much more see the full article.

These projections are far into the future. One would hope that by then there would be a much greater proportion of our energy needs supplied by alternative sources. Perhaps by 2045 extraction of oil from the Tar Sands will be uneconomic. Otherwise with the increased emissions our planet will be damaged more than 1.2 trillion could ever fix.

Canada signs multiple trade deals with China

  Given the large number of high profile business representatives who accompanied Stephen Harper on his visit to China the results are not surprising. This was meant to be a business trip. China needs our resources and Canadian companies are eager to expand markets especially into the rapidly growing Asian economies such as China.
      A CBC article here list ten of what it calls a blizzard of deals. However a main framework agreement is the FIPA (Foreign investment production and protection agreement). The agreement is simply a statement of intent and would need to be ratified by both governments. The agreement when completed will protect Canadian investments in China and Chinese investments in Canada. The agreement will give investors in either country confidence that their investments will be safe in the other country. Such agreements are common. Canada has such agreements with 24 other countries already.
    As well as this overarching agreement there were many agreements in specific areas. I will just mention a few. In agriculture there are agreements to restore Canada as an exporter of beef to China. Also, industrial beef tallow (fat) will now be allowed in. Until now Canada was excluded. China imports about 400 million in tallow each year. China has agreed to purchase more Canadian canola.
    There is agreement as well for collaboration between the two countries on sustainable research. Another welcome move is to collaborate on research to develop and protect National Parks with China's state forestry administration. For much more detail see the entire article. Of course China is very much interested in investing in Canadian resource industries such as the oil sector.
   

Harper chides China over economic threats

Harper chides China over economic threats

While it is reasonable that Harper complain about Celil's rights as a Canadian citizen being violated he has been remarkably quiet about condemning the US for nabbing Maher Arar from a connecting flight to Canada in New York and rendering him for torture and interrogation in Syria. He has said nothing about the US authorities lies to Canadian intelligence authorities. They did not admit he was bound for Syria until after he was already on a plane to Jordan. They said he was in jail in the US.

Harper chides China over economic threats
Last Updated: Friday, February 9, 2007 | 5:53 PM ET
CBC News
Prime Minister Stephen Harper warned China Friday not to threaten Canada with economic repercussions for bringing up the Asian country's human rights record and standing up for the rights of Canadians abroad.

"I would point out to any Chinese official that just as a matter of fact, China had a huge trade surplus with this country, so it would be in the interest of the Chinese government to make sure any dealings on trade are fair and above board," Harper told reporters Friday in Halifax.

The prime minister's comments came in response to statements from a Chinese official, who warned that Ottawa's criticism of China's human rights record could be straining relations between the two countries.

'When a Canadian citizen is ill-treated and when the rights of a Canadian citizen need to be defended, I think it's always the obligation of the government of Canada to vocally and publicly stand up for that Canadian citizen.'
—Prime Minister Stephen HarperHarper also dismissed reports suggesting trade between Canada and China has been hurt by a lack of trust between the two countries and hit out at critics from within Canada's own political ranks.

"There are those in the opposition who will say, 'You know, China is an important country, so we shouldn't really protest these things … so maybe someday we'll be able to sell more goods there,'" Harper said.

"I think that's irresponsible. I think the government of Canada, when a Canadian citizen is ill-treated and when the rights of a Canadian citizen need to be defended, I think it's always the obligation of the government of Canada to vocally and publicly stand up for that Canadian citizen.

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"That is what we will continue to do."

Harper was referring to the case of Huseyin Celil, a Canadian activist jailed in China for alleged terrorist links.

Diplomatic counsel denied
Celil, 37, was arrested in March in Uzbekistan, then extradited to China three months later to face charges he had originally been arrested for in the early 1990s.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Thursday that Celil's case is being handled according to Chinese law and is not subject to consular agreements.

Harper described the move as illegal and insisted Chinese authorities have yet to provide any evidence of wrongdoing.

"They continue to deny his Canadian citizenship, which was granted under our law and international law," Harper said.

"So we continue to protest this at every level, up to and including my own (recent) meeting with the president (of China). We will continue to vocalize these concerns."

Celil made a court appearance last week in Urumqi, the capital of China's western Xinjiang region. There was no Canadian diplomat present — a violation of Celil's rights as a Canadian citizen.

Celil's relatives have said they believe he is being tortured.

Celil, a member of the Uighur minority group in Xinjiang, was born and raised in China. Chinese authorities have long maintained that Uighur militants are leading a violent Islamic separatist movement.

With files from the Canadian Press

Posted by ken at 6:29 PM 0 comments

Labels: Canada, China, Chinese Canadian relations, Human rights in China

Minimum wages in Canada and provinces

This is a good summary of the history and present situation in the provinces. The wages are in Canadian dollars. The Canadian dollar is around 85 cents US I believe right now. It is ironic that Alberta one of the richest provinces has a minimum wage that is tied for the lowest along with have-not Atlantic provinces. The cost of living is quite high relative to most provinces in Alberta, especially the cities.

Economy
Minimum wage laws – The state of pay in Canada
Last Updated February 2, 2007
CBC News
Most Canadians have had only fleeting contact with the minimum wage. Perhaps that first job as a teenager in a fast food restaurant or working at the cash register of a local store. Then, it was on to bigger and better-paying jobs.

But minimum wage employment is still the reality for many in this country. Some never manage to rise above those so-called entry-level positions. In 2007, for someone working full-time, that means an annual income of less than $16,000. Some try to support a family on that.

Minimum wage
Number of Canadians working at or below minimum wage in 2005:
587,000 (4.3% of all employees)

Source: Statistics Canada
The minimum wage is designed to impose a broad and enforceable standard on employers that would guarantee a minimum level of income for unskilled, non-unionized workers. Minimum wage standards are also designed to stop these workers from trying to undercut each other by agreeing to work for less than someone else.

The minimum wage also serves as a benchmark for many more workers who are paid above the minimum wage. Many of these better-paid employees also see their wages rise when the minimum wage is bumped up.

History of minimum wage legislation

If you found yourself as an unskilled, uneducated worker in the 19th Century, you were on your own in Canada. There were no minimum wage standards anywhere in the country; no labour code to protect you from exploitation. Employers could pay workers as little as they wanted and many did just that. Craft unions arrived in the latter part of the century and were often able to win improvements in pay and working conditions. By 1912, as many as 160,000 Canadians were members of a union – often in such areas as mining and the railways.

The first minimum wage legislation in Canada was passed in 1918 by both British Columbia and Manitoba. Two years later, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan followed suit. Interestingly, these early wage laws applied only to women and only to some kinds of employment. According to a labour law analysis by Human Resources Development Canada, the thinking at the time was that labour unions (which represented male workers) could do a better job of ensuring that men earned a living wage by bargaining on their behalf.

Hourly minimum pay for adults (as of Feb. 1, 2007) Province Wage
B.C. $8.00
Alberta $7.00
Saskatchewan $7.55
Manitoba $7.60
Ontario $8.00
Quebec $7.75
New Brunswick $7.00
Nova Scotia $7.15
P.E.I. $7.15
Newfoundland $7.00
Northwest Territories $8.25
Nunavut $8.50
Yukon $8.25
Other provinces and territories gradually brought in minimum wage legislation for women and men, with Prince Edward Island being the last province to do so in 1960. For many years, provinces also legislated higher minimum wages for men than for women. The prevailing thinking was that men deserved more pay because the family's main breadwinner was usually male. Gender-based minimum wage rates weren't abolished in all provinces until 1974.

There used to be a federal minimum wage too. That applied to workers whose jobs were covered under the Canada Labour Code – like those in banking and the railways. But in 1996, the current provincial or territorial rates were adopted as the federal minimums.

At one point, many provinces also had higher minimums for workers in urban centers than for those in rural areas – a distinction that disappeared by the 1970s.

Currently, minimum wage rates in Canada vary by less than $2 an hour between the highest and lowest standards. The minimums generally do not automatically increase according to the inflation rate, but are adjusted on an ad-hoc basis by provincial and territorial governments. On April 1, 2007, Yukon becomes the first jurisdiction to peg annual increases in its minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index. A few provinces are bound by statute to review the minimum wage standard every year or two, but none is required to change it. Critics point out that the legislated minimums have often not kept pace with inflation.

All provinces provide for fines for employers who pay covered employees less than the prescribed minimums.

Are there exceptions to the basic minimum wage rates?

Yes, and lots of them. Millions of Canadian workers are not covered by minimum wage laws. Self-employed workers, independent contractors, students in training programs, and salespeople paid exclusively by commission are almost never covered in any province or territory.

Most provinces also have their own rules that either exclude some kinds of workers from minimum wage coverage or allow lower minimum rates for some kinds of workers.

Some provinces, for instance, allow employers to pay less to workers who serve alcohol or otherwise accept tips. Ontario is the only province that still allows young workers to be paid less than adults. New Brunswick says domestic workers and live-in care workers aren't covered by minimum wage laws. In some other provinces, domestics are covered, but nannies aren't. Farm labour and homeworkers are usually not covered, but there are exceptions there too. And depending on the jurisdiction, camp counsellors, hunting and fishing guides, and inexperienced workers may also have lower minimum wage provisions.

Does the minimum wage prevent poverty?

Just about everyone agrees that a minimum wage is not a living wage. It's virtually impossible to live independently on $16,000 a year in any major Canadian city.

The Vanier Institute of the Family, in its 2005 submission to the Federal Labour Standards Review, said the minimum wage in now "not even close" to being a living wage. "No longer can a minimum wage employee hope to provide for a family," it said. "Even two minimum wages in a household will not protect its children from the short-term and long-term consequences of poverty." Similarly, research by Campaign 2000 (which fights child and family poverty) said 45 per cent of all low income children in 2002 lived in families where at least one parent worked full-time.

In 2005, the Canadian Labour Congress said a single person working full-time in Canada needed an hourly rate of at least $10 to reach a poverty-line income. The CLC estimates that a quarter of all workers make less than that. Women, visible minorities, part-timers, people with disabilities, those with less than a high school diploma, and recent immigrants are over-represented in the lowest-paid ranks.

So what's the solution? Some say raising minimum rates to $10 an hour is a good place to start. But the Canadian Chamber of Commerce says higher minimum wages cost jobs for young and unskilled workers. "It is estimated that a 10 per cent increase in the minimum wage results in a 2.5 per cent decline in employment," the Chamber said in a 2005 paper calling for changes to the Canada Labour Code. The Chamber also cited research that associated high minimum wage rates with higher school dropout rates, as teenagers are persuaded to leave school.

Others have suggested that simply raising the minimum wage may not be the best poverty-fighting mechanism. They suggest wage supplements for the working poor. The labour movement also says it's no coincidence that the lowest paid jobs are typically non-union. And others say better wages will result when the quality of jobs improves.

Main sources: Human Resources Development Canada Database on Minimum Wages, Canadian Labour Congress, Campaign 2000, Vanier Institute of the Family, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Statistics Canada.

The Canadian no-fly list

It is obvious that the list will be shared with the US. Perhaps it is even made in the US. Refusing to acknowledge this info will be shared is just like Israel not saying it has nuclear arms!
Actually, there must be some sort of list already. There is a long history of people being refused entry to the US. Farley Mowat's case comes to mind and George Woodcock. A former Manitoba cabinet minister in the provincial govt. was denied entry to the US at one time.


Tuesday » January 16 » 2007

Feds mum on no-fly list

Don Butler
CanWest News Service
Monday, January 15, 2007
OTTAWA - The federal government refuses to say whether it plans to share names and information from Transport Canada's new no-fly list with U.S. authorities.
"These are high security questions," explained Catherine Loubier, an aide to Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon. "Answering that question is a sort of security breach for us."
But security experts say there's little doubt Canada will share no-fly information with its allies, including the U.S., when the list is activated in March for all domestic flights. It will be extended to international flights to and from Canada in June.
Some fear sharing watch list information with the U.S. could lead to more cases like that of Maher Arar, who was deported to Syria by the Americans and incarcerated and tortured there.
Loubier's comments came after Transport Canada officials crafted the following carefully worded non-answer to Citizen questions about whether no-fly information would be shared with the Americans:
"Canadian legislation, including the Privacy Act, and policy will determine whether it is possible to share the list, or any information from the list, with foreign authorities."
One thing is beyond dispute: every airline that flies into and out of Canada will have access to the no-fly list.
By law, they will be required to check traveller names against the list before issuing boarding passes. If the name, gender and birth date of travellers match those of a "specified person" on the no-fly list, Transport Canada can deny boarding.
Canada is introducing its own no-fly list because "terrorist groups continue to target civil aviation," said Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day. The program, he said, "will add another layer of security to our aviation system while maintaining efficiency and ensuring the privacy and human rights of Canadians are protected."
But Roch Tasse, national coordinator of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, said once information is shared with another nation, Canadian privacy protections don't apply.
"And as we've seen in the case of Maher Arar, even international law and international standards are not respected by our southern neighbour."
Loubier said Transport Canada was "well aware" of the danger of more Arar-type cases. "The Arar affair is something we surely don't want to see repeated," she said.
Cannon even delayed implementing the no-fly list, part of a program called Passenger Protect, until he was satisfied that the risk had been eliminated, she said. "We feel very comfortable that this is absolutely not a risk, or else we wouldn't be going ahead with this Passenger Protect program."
However even the most carefully designed no-fly list is bound to include errors, experts say. "Despite their best efforts, there's almost certainly gong to be names that end up there that probably shouldn't be," said Reg Whitaker, who chaired a panel that reviewed the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority last year.
That propensity for error increases the chance of more Arar-type cases, says Wesley Wark, a terrorism expert at the University of Toronto. "I think there's no way around that if you're going to have a watch list."
Wark has "no doubt" that Canada will share its no-fly list with authorities in the United States. "We have pledged ourselves to doing that through the traditional mechanisms of intelligence sharing, which persist despite the problems revealed in the Maher Arar case," he said.
He noted that Justice Dennis O'Connor, who headed the inquiry into Arar's case, concluded that intelligence sharing must continue. "It just has to be improved."
Moreover, Canada is committed to closer North American security integration as part of the 2005 Security and Prosperity Partnership between Canada, Mexico and the U.S., said Wark.
"One of the key elements of that is going to be information sharing on watch lists and trying to make watch lists congruent."
Terrorism expert John Thompson, president of the Mackenzie Institute, said Canadian police and intelligence agencies already work closely with dozens of other nations, particularly the British, Australians and Americans.
"And we share information left, right and centre all the time on a daily basis," he said. "But good luck getting someone to confirm that."
Thompson said information sharing is now integral to police and intelligence work, which is increasingly being done by multi-national task forces.
"A lot of Canadians still think in terms of CSIS and the RCMP," he said. "Those terms are almost irrelevant now. All the actual work is done by task forces with representation from all these different agencies."
Thompson said political considerations have a lot to do with the government's reticence when it comes to talking about sharing no-fly information with the U.S..
"There's a substantial portion of our population that is uncomfortable with the new security environment," he said. "If they refuse to answer the question, then somebody can't really get a fuss started about it."
Martin Rudner, director of Carleton University's Canadian Centre of Intelligence and Security Studies, said the no-fly list illustrates a classic Canadian dilemma.
"The public actually do want sovereign control over the watch list, and also we want to be able to enter the United States without passports and visas," he said. "Sorry, those two you can't have together."
Ottawa Citizen
With the start of the Robert Pickton murder trial set forJan. 22, the Vancouver Sun is filing a pre-trial package of copythat will lead up to the proceedings. For Monday, story aboutfamilies of other 20 women not on indictment. Neal Hall (VancouverSun). Length to be determined.
© CanWest News Service 2007

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