Saturday 23 December 2017

CANADIAN DAILY DIGEST December 23, 2017


The DAILY DIGEST: INFORMATION and OPINION
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>HEADLINES ACROSS CANADA <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

CBCBritish Columbia Calgary Edmonton Saskatchewan Manitoba Thunder Bay Sudbury Windsor Kitchener-Waterloo Hamilton Toronto Ottawa Montreal New Brunswick  Prince Edward Island Nova Scotia  Newfoundland & Labrador

North CTV Atlantic  CTV Montreal  CTV Ottawa  CTV Toronto CTV Northern Ontario CTV Kitchener CTV Winnipeg CTV Regina CTVSaskatoon CTV Calgary CTV Edmonton CTV British Columbia

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>NATIONAL NEWSWATCH<<<<<<<< http://www.nationalnewswatch.com/

Trudeau�s Liberals still ahead of Tories, but support slipping: Ipsos poll

Police investigating Sherman deaths checking sewers for clues
        Would Canadians drive to border towns if new NAFTA raised duty-free limit?
The year in Justin Trudeau�s socks
        Why N.L. premier was harassed over a murderer�s drug debts before 2015 election

Reaching consumers is a complicated challenge for the agrifood sector

Alberta government authorizes $37B in borrowing, says it�s part of financial plan
        Toronto Mayor John Tory talks 2018 election, transporation and policing in year-end interview
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>LOONIE POLITICS<<<<<<<<<<<<<< http://looniepolitics.com/
Slow progress leaves the Senate vulnerable - Dale Smith, Loonie Politics
        �Rising tide of Islamophobia and racism�: Wynne - Antonella Artuso, Toronto Sun
The Tale of the Handsome Prime Minister Who Did Nothing Wrong - Colby Cosh, National Post
        #MeToo movement gains traction in Ottawa - Warren Kinsella, Loonie Politics
Bill could let cyber spy agency launch attacks with minimal oversight: report - CTV News
        CN to buy 200 locomotives from GE as freight volumes surge- Eric Atkins, The Globe and Mail
Bitcoin plunges 30% as �sharks� circle in the cryptocurrency�s biggest test yet- Samuel Potter and Eddie van der Walt - Bloomberg News, Financial Post
        October GDP flat compared with September, up from 2016: StatsCan- CTV News

TOUTES LES NOUVELLES PUBLIES DEPUIS 24 HEURES http://fr.canoe.ca/infos/aujourdhui/

D�c�s de l'astronaute Bruce McCandless II, qui s'�tait d�plac� librement dans l'espacePlus
        Poutine joue un match de hockey sur la place RougePlus
Attentat de No�l d�jou� � San Francisco: l'appel malheureux du FBIPlus
        Incendie au zoo de Londres, un animal manque � l'appelPlus
Catalogne: Puigdemont envisage de rester � BruxellesPlus
        Un Qu�b�cois remporte 60 millions $ au Lotto Max juste avant No�lPlus
L'auteur de l'attaque � la voiture b�lier de Melbourne accus� de tentative de meurtrePlus
Iran : 230 jeunes arr�t�s dans deux soir�es mixtesPlus

FOREIGN AFFAIRS & GENERAL INFO

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Stay up to date on Russia - read RussiaFeed<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>LOONIE WORLD<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< http://looniepolitics.com/
GOP�s Absurd Revisionist History of Trump�s First Year - Paul Waldman, The Week
        Nancy Pelosi�s Apocalyptic Tax-Bill Delusions - Rich Lowry, New York Post
Unemployment hits record low in 13 states - Reid Wilson, The Hill
        Trump Got What He Deserved at United Nations - John Kirby, CNN
On the Front Lines of the GOP�s Civil War - Sam Tanenhaus, Esquire
        Nikki Haley Puts �Em on Notice Like They Deserve - Tom Shattuck, Boston Herald
Trump signs sweeping tax bill into law - John Wagner, Washington Post
        Feeble Resistance: Look at What Dems Haven�t Accomplished - Fred Barnes, The Weekly Standard
Spain�s PM Rajoy willing to talk with future Catalan regional government- France 24
        Peru�s president survives bribery impeachment- Mariana Sanchez, Al Jazeera

North Korea brands Trump�s US security report �criminal�- BBC News
        Mahmoud Abbas calls on France to step up as he rejects US as peace broker- Staff, The Guardian
Russia�s partial Syria withdrawal �carried out�: Defence minister- AFP, The Times Of India

>>>>>>>>>>>>>THE LEBANON DAILY STAR<<<<<<<< http://www.dailystar.com

Trump supporters greet tax law with shrugs and measured hope
        Gaza zookeeper puts lion cubs up for sale
Macedonia ready to give up claims on Alexander the Great
        Russia's ruling party seeks Putin's 'ultimate victory' at 2018 election
Merkel, Macron say no alternative to peaceful settlement in eastern Ukraine
        Coptic diocese says hundreds assault church in Egypt
Who's next: End of an era as "Doctor Who" gets a new star
        US arming Ukraine could cause 'bloodshed': Russia
DC appeals court denies stay of transgender military ban
        Meryl Streep�s brand under threat over Weinstein denial


How to make millions selling passports to Africa
        Syria war winds down but tangled map belies conflict ahead
The Pentagon�s puzzles for 2018
        Top U.S. aid recipients ignored Trump threat
The world�s central banks� views on cryptocurrencies
        Putin accuses U.S. of violating Cold War-era nuclear pact
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CHINA BOUGHT $20 BILLION FROM CANADA

How much of the $20 came back as finished goods in the $64 billion we bought?

BELOW(30)(30)(30)(30)(30)(30)(30)(30)(30)(30)(30)30)(30)(30)(30)(30)(30)30)(30)

Subject: Stop China's takeover of Aecon before it's too late: Peter MacKay - iPolitics
From: Zeb Landon

Joe
This issue needs more attention.

Merry Christmas!

  Zeb

Opinions

Stop China's takeover of Aecon before it's too late: Peter MacKay

By Peter MacKay. Published on Dec 8, 2017 2:52pm
Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

With all the controversy sparked by Prime Minister Trudeau's recent trip to China, there is one critical issue that cannot be overlooked: the need to stop the takeover of major Canadian industries through direct investment in Canada by the Chinese government through state owned enterprises (SOEs).

There is a very limited role in the Canadian economy for any government-owned and subsidized enterprise that competes directly with the private sector. One only needs to recall Air Canada, Petro Canada and currently the CBC. When it comes to foreign governments and domestic assets that have a strategic sensitivity, Canada needs to be clear and consistent about its investment boundaries with other countries. This is particularly true when the investment has a national security component.

As it now stands, in terms of the asset value of investments, total investment from China in Canada now exceeds that of the U.S. At the same time, the thresholds for review under the Investment Canada Act have been altered to make such deals easier to approve. Not only that, the strategic nature of those investments is a disturbing departure from past practice.

There is no clearer example of the need for urgent action on this front than the pending $1.45 billion sale of construction giant Aecon to China's state-owned construction giant, CCCI. Even if you don�t know Aecon by name, you almost certainly have used an Aecon-built road, bridge, airport or power plant. Aecon built the CN Tower, Vancouver's SkyTrain and the Halifax Shipyards.

This proposed acquisition is slated to happen just as Canada's heavily touted infrastructure upgrade program launches. If Aecon is acquired by CCCI, profits from this taxpayer-funded initiative to build and improve the means to enhance Canada's economic competitiveness to build our communities for generations to come would go directly to the government of China.
open quote 761b1bWhat the trip to China clearly highlighted was that Beijing does not share our government's agenda on progressive values and is not interested in enhancing worker protections and labour standards. This does not bode well.

In the words of columnist Diane Francis, "China's corporations are state-owned enterprises, or client corporations, and accede to the wishes of the Politburo

China's track record in Canada is abysmal and includes a request to the Supreme Court of Canada, by a Chinese engineering giant a handful of years ago, to exempt it from our laws after it breached safety violations and ignored our courts following workers deaths. The Court refused to hear the case. Fines were never paid.

We dodged a bullet. The court might not be so wise and far-sighted the next time.

Approval of the sale also would mean muting the significant economic multiplier effect of infrastructure investment across the country. According to a recent study published by the Broadbent Institute, GDP rises by $1.43 for every infrastructure dollar spent, 9.4 jobs are generated for every million spent, and 44 cents of every dollar invested by government is returned in tax revenue.

When these things click into place, businesses become more productive and competitive and real wages rise, providing a higher standard of living. But who benefits if Canadian investment goes to Beijing?

Given how little was accomplished by the much-anticipated trip to China, there is a heightened risk that the Liberal government will now be tempted to exhibit goodwill by expediting a takeover that in no way offers a net benefit to Canada and, in the future, would funnel investment and opportunity away from our shores.

What the trip to China clearly highlighted was that Beijing does not share our government�s agenda on progressive values and is not interested in enhancing worker protections and labour standards. This does not bode well for its entry into our highly regulated system.

A construction company owned by the Chinese government, furthermore, is more likely to use steel and other essential materials imported from Chinese government-owned steel mills. China is one of the most unrepentant dumpers of steel in Canada a factor that has driven Canadian steelmakers into bankruptcy more than once.

As Parliament breaks for Christmas recess, the one gift this Liberal government can give all Canadians is the gift of integrity and security by refusing to approve CCCI's takeover of Aecon.


RelatedAecon shareholders vote to approve takeover offer by Chinese company

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From: Larry Kazdan
To: letters@globeandmail.ca Cc: bcurry@globeandmail.com
Subject: Deficit on track for elimination by 2045, a decade earlier than last year's projection, Bill Curry, December 22, 2017

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/deficit-on-track-for-elimination-by-2045-a-decade-earlier-than-last-years-projection/article37420980/

Increasing household debt is not sustainable. Growing poverty and inequality are not sustainable. Uncontrolled climate change and environmental degradation are not sustainable. However, the federal debt and deficits are always financially sustainable because our government owns a central bank and can never go bankrupt in its own dollars. 

Pundits and politicians need to waste less time on statistical irrelevancies related to federal debt, and start focusing on looming real-world problems that directly threaten the health and welfare of Canadians. Since Canada has low inflation and many unused resources including over 1.2 million Canadians actively seeking income, strategic expenditures can put more money into the pockets of Canadians by employing them to provide community services and to protect our future through robust measures of conservation and environmental stewardship. 

Footnotes:


William Mitchell is Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia
http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=31487

"There is no rational economic reason, for a currency-issuing government, to think that a balanced fiscal position is responsible, desirable or even possible.

The fiscal balance should never be a policy target whether it be an immediate aim or some stretched goal into the future.

The relevant goals should be about the outcomes that make societies prosperous and inclusive  goods schools and hospitals, good public transport, full employment, strong income support safety nets for those who cannot work, socially responsible minimum wages etc.
***
Forget the deficit. Forget the fiscal balance. Focus on what matters  employment, equity, environmental sustainability. And as we would soon see  the fiscal balance will just be whatever it is  a relatively uninteresting and irrelevant statistical artifact."


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