Canada Jan. 9th, 2010 (10)

#1 — CBC | Men kicked off plane for asking ‘unusual’ questions

Nine men were ordered off a Sunwing aircraft destined for Cuba earlier this week after asking a flight attendant unusual questions about the security equipment on the plane.

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#2 — CBC | Mentally ill inmates fall through cracks: Van Loan

The tragic case of Ashley Smith is a “perfect example” of policy failure across different levels of government and various ministries, says Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan.

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#3 — CTV | Canada’s jobless rate stayed stable in December

Canada’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.5 per cent in December, Statistics Canada reported Friday.

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#4 — CTV | Charges that Fantino influenced officials move forward

TORONTO — A summons was issued Friday against Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian Fantino on allegations that he illegally influenced elected officials in Caledonia, Ont., the site of a long-running aboriginal occupation.

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#5 — CTV | Court asked to overturn gov’t decision on Globalive

TORONTO — Toronto-based cellphone company Public Mobile says it’s asking the Federal Court to overturn the government’s decision to allow Globalive to enter the Canadian wireless market.

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#6 — Globe | Budget’s No. 1 job: Putting Canadians to work

Stephen Harper says his second stimulus budget must do more to get Canadians back to work, as weak Canadian and U.S. job numbers throw a curveball to policy makers planning to wind down deficit spending.

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#7 — Globe | Auto sector slams new Quebec rules

New environmental regulations in Quebec that commence next week could raise the prices of 80 per cent of the vehicles sold in the province, causing consumers to halt purchases of new vehicles that emit fewer greenhouse gases than those already on the road, auto industry members say.

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#8 — OC | In proroguing Parliament, Harper accused of undermining democracy

OTTAWA — Last October, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson took the podium at the national press theatre in Ottawa and declared that, with the introduction of new legislation by the Conservative government, serial killers such as Robert Pickton and Clifford Olson would no longer get “volume discounts” on their parole terms.

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#9 — MG | Afghanistan mission price tag passes $525,000 per soldier

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — It costs taxpayers about $525,000 a year to keep one Canadian soldier in Afghanistan, according to the simplest calculation possible, which is to divide the approximately $1.5-billion cost of the mission for the 2009/2010 fiscal year by the 2,850 troops who are part of it.

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#10 — Star | Navy’s piracy mission troubled

OTTAWA–Pirate-fighting sailors had to share uniforms, borrow equipment and battle Ottawa for authority to fly their helicopter, which was key to a Canadian counter-piracy mission in the Horn of Africa last year.

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