Around Canada

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This article was published 08/03/2012 (5224 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Crime bill vote delayed

OTTAWA, Ont. — Procedural tactics by the NDP in the House of Commons managed to postpone a final vote on the Conservative government’s sweeping crime bill late Wednesday.

The stalling tactics mean Bill C-10 likely won’t come to a final vote until early next week — a perhaps fitting end-game for a bill that has attracted no end of partisan acrimony in parliament.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson accused New Democrats of being more interested in procedural games than what he called doing the right thing for Canadians.

The omnibus legislation, which includes nine crime-related bills on a wide range of issues, was a key plank in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s re-election campaign last spring.

Montreal protest turns ugly

MONTREAL — Four people were injured during student protests as Quebec’s battle over university tuition-fee hikes took a nasty turn Wednesday.

Clouds of tear gas wafted over downtown Montreal as riot police used billy clubs to slam their way through protesters who were blocking a public building. Some responded by tossing snowballs at officers.

Though the injuries were minor, two people — one policeman and one protester — had to be treated in hospital.

The scene in Montreal’s streets illustrated the increasingly bitter battle over fees, pitting the Charest government against those who deem the province’s rock-bottom tuition rates an inviolable right.

Hand-picking immigrants?

OTTAWA — Canada will consider legislating away its massive backlog of immigration applications and allowing provinces to cherry-pick from one big pool of would-be newcomers in a bid to transform Canada’s immigration system into one that’s driven by the economy, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said Wednesday.

Kenney said a new pilot project is now in place to give provinces the opportunity to “mine the backlog” for newcomers who meet local labour force needs.

The federal government has already struck deals with British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and the Northwest Territories to sort through the backlogs.

Troubled firm aided Canada

OTTAWA — An American private security firm whose employees have been implicated in the killing of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan was paid nearly $2.4 million to train Canadian soldiers last year.

Documents tabled in the House of Commons show Xe Services, formerly known as Blackwater, was providing select troops specialized training in precision shooting and defensive driving at the company’s North Carolina facilities.

Another ecstasy death

REGINA — The death of a 46-year-old man from Moose Jaw, Sask., has been linked to tainted ecstasy — as has been the case in multiple deaths in B.C. and Alberta.

This is the first confirmed case of the tainted drug in Saskatchewan, prompting a public alert by the province.

The man died Feb. 4 at his home in Moose Jaw, 65 kilometres west of Regina. The cause of the death wasn’t confirmed until this week through the results of a toxicology report.

— from the news services