Explosion at Quebec plant kills two; 19 sent to hospital
By The Canadian Press - Thursday, November 8, 2012 - 0 Comments
SHERBROOKE, Que. – Shortly after two people were found dead amid the ruins of…
SHERBROOKE, Que. – Shortly after two people were found dead amid the ruins of a plant explosion loud enough to be heard for kilometres around, firefighters digging in the rubble found a terrified survivor safe and sound.
“She was hiding in the debris and she was hiding because she was scared,” said Const. Rene Dubreuil, a Sherbrooke police spokesman. “This person was found by firefighters when they made a search of the building to find people who were missing.”
The survivor was not identified nor were the dead, who were found as firefighters combed the ruins of the decimated processing plant. A statement from the company identified the dead as employees.
The blast and fire, which produced a thick, dark cloud of toxic smoke, sent 19 other people to hospital, some with severe burns.
The incident occurred in Quebec’s Eastern Townships at the Sherbrooke facility belonging to Neptune Technologies & Bioressources, which produces health products such as Omega-3 derived from marine life.
The local 911 line was immediately flooded with a record number of calls, authorities said.
Martin Carrier, a Sherbrooke police spokesman, said more than 100 people in Sherbrooke and surrounding boroughs such as Fleurimont and Lennoxville phoned within a minute.
“They heard the explosion,” Carrier said. “It was a big noise. A lot of black smoke. You could see it everywhere in the city.”
When first responders arrived at the plant, they beheld a scene of devastation as workers fled for safety.
“We’ve got people injured inside, we’ve got people injured outside,” Carrier said.
“Some were walking, helped by another. It was a chaotic scene,” he said. “Pretty tough.”
Firefighters probed the tangled building carefully, looking for potential victims. Among the 19 injured, four were transported to a burn unit in Montreal; two were in an intensive-care unit in Sherbrooke; seven were quickly released from hospital; and six were held for observation.
The bodies of the dead and the additional survivor were found later in the day.
It was the first of two major fires Thursday in Quebec.
Hours later, flames were skipping off a rooftop in Old Montreal as emergency crews were called in to deal with a blaze a block away from the famous Notre-Dame Basilica, close to the Montreal La Presse newspaper which had to be evacuated. There were no reports of injuries in the Montreal fire.
But the Sherbrooke blaze was potent enough that smoke kept drifting up for hours, even after fire crews had contained the flames, while an acrid stench continued to hover in the air.
The plant lay in ruins. The only walls that remained standing in the twisted ruins were scorched black by the flames. The steady stream of water poured on remaining flames as a gentle snow began to fall produced a hissing sound as it turned to steam in the frigid night air.
Giant excavator tractors, usually seen on construction sites digging out foundations for buildings, were brought in to claw gingerly through tangled debris under spotlights from fire department aerial ladders as night darkened.
“Just looking at the damage to the building you can see it was probably very violent,” said Gaetan Drouin, head of the local fire service.
“Even before the 911 calls came in (one fire station) already had many firefighters on the way. They set off the alarm bells just from seeing the plume of smoke that shot up into the sky.”
Fears about toxic smoke stemmed from the plant’s 15,000-litre reserve of acetone, a flammable substance consumed by the fire.
When ingested, acetone can cause irritation. However, local health officials downplayed the toxic threat, suggesting people might potentially experience headaches or nausea but little else because of the smoke.
Environment Quebec said it was actually more concerned about the possibility of soil or water contamination than of the risk associated with breathing the air near the blast site.
It’s unclear what caused the explosion. An investigation is underway.
There was at least one large blast followed by a series of smaller ones. Police set up a security perimeter and cleared the area around the industrial park.
One man who lives nearby said: “I was working in the garage and I heard a loud, ‘Boom.’ Then we were evacuated.” Another neighbour said the flames were visible from blocks away. Both declined to give their names.
Within minutes of the blast, police said, employees had been evacuated from the facility and supervisors were performing a head count outdoors.
Residents were asked to avoid the area around the industrial park. “We’re asking people to stay away… These are possibly toxic clouds,” said Rene Dubreuil of the Sherbrooke police.
The Laval-based company announced plans last year to expand its Sherbrooke facility. The federal government supported the project with an interest-free loan and the Quebec government provided a grant, according to an announcement made earlier this year by then-premier Jean Charest.
Shares of the company (NASDAQ:NEPT) plunged 10 per cent during a sell-off in less than a half-hour of trading following the incident.
The company called in a psychiatric support team to help traumatized workers. It promised to co-operate with police during the investigation.
“We’re in terrible shock over what’s happened,” said Michel Chartrand, chief of operations for the company.
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Iranian blogger murdered in custody
By Michael Petrou - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 9:02 PM - 0 Comments
Sattar Beheshti is dead. Most of his family are forbidden from visiting his grave. Marg bar dictator.
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Could the solution to Quebec tuition crisis be funding freeze for universities?
By The Canadian Press - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 8:44 PM - 0 Comments
QUEBEC – The Parti Quebecois government appears to be challenging the notion that the…
QUEBEC – The Parti Quebecois government appears to be challenging the notion that the province’s universities are under-funded, a tactic that could hold significant implications it prepares to hold a highly anticipated summit on education.
The government has promised to host a symposium in February aimed at finding a long-term solution to the challenge of university funding, an event that stems from a key PQ election pledge to cancel previously planned tuition hikes.
But it is now sending signals that universities might not actually require a financial boost.
Members of the government including Premier Pauline Marois have in recent weeks been repeatedly challenging the premise that the province’s universities are under-financed. On Thursday, the government even leaked a report to the media challenging that oft-repeated notion.
The report from the Department of Education said the province spent two per cent more per student than the Canadian average — $29,242, compared with $28,735 — in 2008-09. According to those four-year-old figures, the Ontario amount was $26,383, while the amount for Western provinces was higher at $32,976.
In leaking the report, the PQ informed journalists that the study was available to the previous Liberal government and suggested that the tuition crisis might have been waged over nothing.
The Charest Liberals repeatedly maintained that universities need funding increases and they cast tuition hikes as the fairest way to achieve that goal, given that Quebecers pay the highest income taxes in the country while students have the lowest tuition.
But their planned increase, of more than 70 per cent over five years, provoked a social backlash dubbed the Maple Spring.
“I think people protest loudly when they’re not listened to,” Marois told a news conference in Montreal, contrasting her approach with the Liberals’.
“I’m saying to these people, to the student movement in general, that those days are over.”
Now the PQ says it favours a tuition freeze. It says it will listen to other opinions at the February summit, including those of the more hardline student groups that want tuition cancelled altogether. However, that group, best known as the CLASSE, suggests it might not attend the summit.
One opposition party says the government has its priorities backward.
“The government needs to do things in order,” said Coalition party Leader Francois Legault.
“It should start by recognizing university under-funding and establish where it stands before debating solutions. If this government doesn’t recognize that our universities lack money, how can we trust that its summit will bring solutions to improve higher education?
The government refuses to stare reality in the face and its stubbornness risks propelling us toward a summit of illusions.”
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Reopening the pot debate: Politics on TV, Nov. 8 edition
By Dale Smith - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 8:29 PM - 0 Comments
Talking about legalizing marijuana, China’s changing leadership, and Peter Penashue’s performance
Message of the day
“The American votes on marijuana legalization have reopened the debate.”
Questions not answered
- Will China’s new leadership foster a mood of cooperation or antagonism?
Legalizing marijuana:
Power & Politics led off by asking International Co-operation Minister and former police chief Julian Fantino about the votes in two American states to legalize marijuana, while the Canadian government toughens its laws. Fantino said they are always concerned about contraband coming across the border, and the harmfulness of drugs, which also fund organized crime. Fantino reiterated that the government is not in favour of legalizing or decriminalizing, but insisted that people don’t go to jail for small amounts. He did say that they are watching what is going on, but believe the tough approach is working.
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Owner of collapsed mall loses bid to have taxpayers foot his inquiry bill
By The Canadian Press - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 7:32 PM - 0 Comments
TORONTO – The owners of a mall that collapsed in northern Ontario were denied…
TORONTO – The owners of a mall that collapsed in northern Ontario were denied funding on Thursday to participate in the public inquiry into the tragedy.
In his ruling, Commissioner Paul Belanger said Bob Nazarian and his son Levon Nazarian had not shown why Ontario taxpayers should pay their legal bills.
“Applicants seeking funding must be forthright and provide the commission with a clear picture of their net worth,” Belanger said in his ruling.
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NHL talks to continue for 4th straight day, Bettman says “still a lot of work to do”
By The Canadian Press - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 7:30 PM - 0 Comments
NEW YORK, N.Y. – The NHL and NHL Players’ Association will meet for a…
NEW YORK, N.Y. – The NHL and NHL Players’ Association will meet for a fourth straight day in an attempt to salvage a shortened season.
Key negotiators from the league and union, including NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr, met for five hours Thursday and said talks will continue on Friday.
Thursday’s talks were held at the offices of a midtown Manhattan law firm. So far, the sides have had little to say publicly about how the discussions have gone.
Sources told The Canadian Press that the Players’ Association tabled an offer Wednesday night regarding revenue sharing and the league’s “make whole” provision, which is designed to ensure all existing contracts are honoured in full. It is seen as the fundamental issue left to solve with the NHLPA having already agreed to see the players’ share in revenue reduced to 50 per cent during the next CBA.
The union views that as a concession of more than US$1 billion because that’s how much more players would earn if it remained at the current level of 57 per cent.
The league responded to the players’ offer on Thursday, with Gary Bettman saying there’s “still a lot of work to do.”
With all regular-season games cancelled through Nov. 30, negotiations have reached a critical and delicate stage. Ten days will be needed from the time an agreement is struck until the season starts and there is still hope among the parties that a shortened schedule could begin by Dec. 1.
For that to happen, signs of progress need to emerge soon.
The sides have met for more than 20 hours over the last week, starting with an informal eight-hour session between deputy commissioner Bill Daly and NHLPA special counsel Steve Fehr in Chicago on Saturday. Larger groups that included owners and players spent more than seven hours together on Tuesday and another five hours on Wednesday.
Thursday’s meeting was being viewed by both sides as extremely important. Other weighty topics, including revenue sharing and contract rules, were discussed by the NHL and NHLPA earlier in the week and still need to be worked out before the 54-day lockout comes to an end.
The push is clearly on now to see that happen.
Both sides have cleared their schedules and will continue to do so as long as positive momentum exists in negotiations. Daly had been scheduled to travel to Ottawa on Thursday to speak to a committee about sports betting, but ended up calling off the trip.
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Cram session
By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 4:53 PM - 0 Comments
The opposition parties are unimpressed with how little time is being allowed for the study of C-45.
But NDP MP David Christopherson (Hamilton Centre, Ont.), chair of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, countered that the government knew the timing meant the committee reviews would be limited. “I think our House leader nailed it right when he said it’s a charade,” Mr. Christopherson said. “The government is trying to give the impression they are acquiescing to the opposition’s request for a more detailed scrutiny of the budget implementation bill, but they are doing it in such a way that, in reality, it’s not going to happen in a way that can have any kind of impact,” he said. “It’s all a charade, it’s all a game. It’s unfortunate because it leaves Canadians with the impression that this government is being transparent and accountable, but the reality is they are not. By having control of all the committees, through their majority vote, they are able to manipulate this process in such a way that it looks like something good is being done, but in reality it’s not really happening, which is sort of the trademark of this government, isn’t it,” Mr. Christopherson said.
The NDP questioned the government side about this yesterday and is promising town hall meetings in ridings next week.
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Why do we have an Intergovernmental Affairs Minister?
By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 4:41 PM - 0 Comments
The Scene. It is not necessarily Peter Penashue’s fault that he is the Intergovernmental Affairs Minister. And it is not necessarily Mr. Penashue’s fault that the existence of the Intergovernmental Affairs Minister is something of a mystery. But so long as Mr. Penashue is the Intergovernmental Affairs Minister it is for him to justify that existence.
Indeed, to accept the job is to take on something of an existential crisis. To be the Intergovernmental Affairs Minister is to consider why we have an Intergovernmental Affairs Minister. It has been this way for some years. And it is something Stephane Dion—a former Intergovernmental Affairs Minister, but one who had an identifiable job description—began to ponder a year ago.
“Mr. Speaker, is there a Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs in this Conservative government?” he asked last December.
“Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, if this government even has such a minister,” he sighed last March.
Mr. Penashue might’ve had only to contend with Mr. Dion’s fussiness were it not for the questions about the accounting practices of his election campaign. Such questions have now led to those larger questions. Continue…
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Expect privacy at work? You’re not unreasonable, says Supreme Court
By Jesse Brown - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 4:16 PM - 0 Comments
By now, you hopefully know that your privacy rights take a beating when you go to work. Employers routinely collect and read your emails, monitor your websurfing, track your presence through security dongles and watch you via CCTV cameras. As the logic goes: their workplace, their gear, their company, their rules. Your privacy? Forget it.
Not so fast, says the Supreme Court of Canada in a recent ruling. Our Charter rights to privacy hinge on the concept of “reasonable expectation.” Get naked at home, and it’s reasonable to expect that your neighbour isn’t sitting in a tree peeping in on you. Get naked in your backyard, and don’t be shocked if you’re spotted.
It has now been deemed reasonable for Canadians to expect some degree of privacy when using workplace computer gear. If your office allows you to use your work phone or laptop for personal applications, then your rights to privacy with those apps may remain intact.
The decision went even further: even if your employer explicitly forbids personal use of their machines, employees still retain some right to privacy, albeit a “diminished” one.
From the ruling:
Computers that are used for personal purposes, regardless of where they are found or to whom they belong, “contain the details of our financial, medical, and personal situations”…This sort of private information falls at the very heart of the “biographical core” protected by s. 8 of the Charter.
So, does this mean that your boss is breaking the law when she checks your browser history? Not at all. The ruling recognizes an employer’s right to monitor employee behaviour on work machines in order to look out for “prohibited” usage.
It might sound confusing and contradictory, and it is. The Court’s point is that each case must be considered individually, and that privacy is not something that Canadians automatically and completely surrender just by showing up to work. Without setting any specific precedent, the case is considered to establish some principles that introduce ambiguity into the default assumption many employers make: that they have carte blanche when it comes to employee surveillance. Expect it to be cited in many a forthcoming lawsuit.
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Incidentally, the case that forced this decision is an icky and interesting one. A Sudbury computer science teacher, tasked with monitoring (spying on) students’ uses of school computers, allegedly intercepted naked self-shots sent by an underage girl to another student.
Then, a school I.T. technician, tasked with monitoring (spying on) teachers’ use of school computers, remotely searched the teachers’ laptop and discovered the image in a folder labeled “My Documents.” He turned it over to the principal, who in turn called the cops, who seized and searched the teacher’s laptop, but didn’t bother to get a warrant.
The Supreme Court ruling deemed the search a Charter violation, but also ruled that the evidence could be admitted — but in a new trial.
Follow Jesse Brown on Twitter @JesseBrown
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Maclean’s Bachelor Panel: Week six
By Sonya Bell, Colin Horgan and Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 4:14 PM - 0 Comments
The fantasy date episode: Brad hunkers down with three finalists (on three different nights) in the Maritimes
Our Maclean’s Bachelor panel reconvenes to consider what they’ve learned from another hour and a half of The Bachelor Canada. Find all of their panels here.
From: Sonya
To: Aaron, ColinIt’s all fun and games until Canada’s Prince Charming turns into a toad.
Bachelor Brad Smith, who has espoused the virtues of commitment and communication for weeks now, handed roses to the exact two girls he has identified as being emotionally closed off and perhaps not ready for a serious relationship: Whitney and Bianka.
Kara, my mascara streams down my cheeks with yours.
It’s safe to say most viewers went into this week’s episode expecting that after Whitney’s cold and calculating side was exposed during the home visits last week, she was going to be the one sent packing Wednesday night. (Well played, you crafty reality TV producers you, well played.) Exactly no one was going to miss her. That included, it seemed, Brad: “I can’t be with someone who’s emotionally repressed and that’s what I get from her.”
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Harper on India
By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 2:21 PM - 0 Comments
The Prime Minister considers the political situation in New Delhi.
Mr. Harper, who this week urged India in a speech to work harder and faster on trade deals, on Thursday said he realized New Delhi was proceeding as fast as it could. “Are we frustated? I am very clear we need to go farther and faster,” the prime minister told reporters in Bangalore after celebrating the opening of an IMAX cinema. “In my conversations with Indian leaders, they reflect exactly the same thing.”
He said Indian politicians share his concern but are hamstrung by a coalition government and the need to win approval from partners. “What we do have to realize when we deal with India as opposed to some other countries we’re dealing with in the developing word: this country is a democracy,” the prime minister said. “And that means governments cannot simply dictate a whole set of policy changes to happen the next day. That means governments must develop public consensus behind policy change.”
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Harper on the United States
By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 1:23 PM - 0 Comments
The official readout of the Prime Minister’s conversation with Barack Obama.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke tonight from India with the President of the United States, Barack Obama. The Prime Minister extended his sincere congratulations to the President on his victory and wished him well on his second term.
During their conversation, Prime Minister Harper and President Obama underlined the deep friendship that exists between Canada and the US – a relationship underpinned by the largest bilateral trading relationship in the world as well as close collaboration internationally on peace and security.
During the call, the Prime Minister conveyed that he looks forward to continuing to work with the President on initiatives vital to both countries. In the context of the global economic situation, Prime Minister Harper used the opportunity to convey to the President the importance of the White House and Congress working together to tackle the US fiscal situation.
Speaking with reporters after QP today, Bob Rae was unimpressed with the suggestion that the Prime Minister would be stressing the need to work cooperatively.
I only hope that President Obama is able to get along with other parties and is able to work constructively with other parties than Mr. Harper has proven to be the entire time that he’s been Prime Minister. In my experience in politics, I’ve never, never dealt with a first minister who is less interested in the opinions of other parties, who is less interested in working in cooperation with other parties and who is more determined to run the House like it’s some kind of one-party show. So I hope that President Obama learns from someone else. Of course we want, all the world wants Congress and the presidency to come together on some of these critical economic questions but Mr. Harper is in absolutely no position to give lectures to the President of the United States about how to get along with others. Even in his report cards from Grade 2 and 3, teachers were expressing concern about Mr. Harper’s inability to get along with other kids.
Mr. Rae then confessed that he made this last bit up.
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Meet chess champ Rochelle Ballantyne
By Julia De Laurentiis Johnson - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 1:05 PM - 0 Comments
At the end November, the 17-year-old could very well be the first African American female chess master
Photograph by Grant Cornett, courtesy of Producers Distribution Agency
Rochelle Ballantyne is one determined young lady. The 17-year-old star of Brooklyn Castle, a documentary about a middle school that produces national chess champs from a body of students where most live on the federal poverty line, would like to be the first black female chess master. After the film had its international premiere at Toronto’s Hot Docs earlier this year, attention around Ballantyne has been mounting. At the end of November, she’ll compete in her last national junior school chess tournament and, possibly, reach the level of chess master.
Chess is historically an old white guy’s game. It calls to mind images of Victorian gentleman discussing the Empire over a match at the club or an American genius competing against a Russian genius in some kind of Cold War metaphor. Ballantyne is like the Williams’ sisters of chess: she’s can’t help but shake things up.
Maclean’s spoke with her about focus, skin colour and how beating a boy at chess feels oh so good.
Q: You’ve said that when you play national tournaments you think of the other girls as part of your support system and that you feel like the boys don’t understand. What is it that you don’t think they understand?
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‘President’ Mitt Romney victory website mistakenly goes live
By Emily Senger - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 11:31 AM - 0 Comments
In a post-election mistake, a draft of website designed in case Republican presidential candidate…
In a post-election mistake, a draft of website designed in case Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romeny won on Tuesday night went live for a few moments, reports the Huffington Post.
The site for “President Elect” Mitt Romney was designed by Solution Stream Creative, which told the Huffington Post it had been hired about 10 days before the election.
“I’m excited about our prospects as a nation. My priority is putting people back to work in America,” read the website.
Traffic slowed the site to a crawl and it was eventually pulled down shortly after it was discovered Wednesday, but not before multiple bloggers were able to grab screenshots of the webpage that will never be.
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Trouble for Penashue
By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 11:00 AM - 0 Comments
The Canadian Press considers Peter Penashue’s present predicament.
Embattled Conservative cabinet minister Peter Penashue is facing a double-barrelled opposition attack. He’s been under siege for weeks amid allegations of illegal financing for the 2011 campaign that got him elected to the House of Commons. Now he’s under attack for being missing in action since he got to the Commons.
New Democrats say public records show 79 per cent of Penashue’s ministerial travel has been in his home province of Newfoundland and Labrador, even though he’s the intergovernmental affairs minister responsible for managing federal relations with all provinces and territories.
It took two tries yesterday, but the opposition did a response from Mr. Penashue.
See previously: Questioning the existence of the Intergovernmental Affairs Minister
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Maclean’s Live: Question Period livestream with Twitter commentary
By macleans.ca - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 10:52 AM - 0 Comments
Our livestream and Twitter commentary is a work in progress. QP will appear from 11 a.m. or so until approximately noon. Chime in with #QP.
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Real estate: Toronto still defying gravity
By Erica Alini - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 10:51 AM - 0 Comments
For a while, Canadian builders seemed not to notice that “for sale” signs on people’s lawns were lingering there longer than usual. Sales of existing homes took a dive in September, dropping 15 per cent compared to the same month last year. New residential construction projects, though, were still holding up. No longer. The numbers released today by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation seem to indicate that developers have finally gotten the memo: the market is cooling. There were 17,507 actual housing starts in October, according to the CMHC, which translates to an annualized 204,107 starts—down significantly from 223,995 in September and below the 2012 average.
Now, in a sense, this is of course bad news: it shows that the housing market continues to weaken, which will likely weigh on the entire economy. But in a glass half-full reading of the data, it is also a sign that oversupply problems are likely easing.
Unless, that is, you’re in Toronto. “The monthly decrease in total housing starts posted in October was mostly due to a decrease in both single and multiple starts in urban centres in Quebec and the Prairies. Multiple starts also declined in many urban centres in Ontario, more than offsetting an increase in such starts in Toronto,” Mathieu Laberge, deputy chief Economist at CMHC, said in a statement. The condo building frenzy in Ontario’s capital, in other words, isn’t over yet.
Toronto also defied another housing statistic out this morning: Statistics Canada’s New Housing Price Index. According to the agency, prices of new homes in Canada rose for 18th consecutive month in September, edging up 0.2 per cent compared to the same period last year. The index does not include condo prices, which have been slumping in Toronto. High rises aside, though, the Toronto-Oshawa market is still far in front of all other metropolitan areas:
*Source: Statistics Canada.
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Charges laid after fatal shooting at Toronto block party
By Emily Senger - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 10:40 AM - 0 Comments
Toronto police have laid murder charges after the worst public shooting in the city’s…
Toronto police have laid murder charges after the worst public shooting in the city’s history, which left two dead and 23 others injured.
Shequan “Bam Bam” Mesquito, 18, has been charged with two counts of first degree murder, police told the Toronto Star shortly before a press conference Thursday morning. Mesquito is also charged with attempted murder, reckless discharge of a firearm and 24 counts of aggravated assault, Staff Insp. Greg McLane told The Canadian Press.
The shooting occurred as hundreds gathered for a block party on Danzig Street, in the east part of Toronto, on July 17.
Police said in September that the Danzig Street shooting was linked to a gang that called itself the Galloway Boys. That gang has also been linked to three other murders and six other shootings in Toronto over the past year, police said.
Shyanne Charles, 14, and Joshua Yasay, 23, were killed in the Danzig Street shooting. Both were considered innocent bystanders.
Prior to Thursday’s charges, Mesquito was charged with uttering threats in July. Another man, Nahom Tsegazab, 19, has also been charged with reckless discharge of a firearm.
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Lincoln Unchained: a video mash-up of three movies about freeing American slaves
By Brian D. Johnson - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 10:19 AM - 0 Comments
This year of presidential gunslinging has produced three films about freeing American slaves: Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Killer and Django Unchained. What if they were all the same movie? My mash-up trailer:
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Supreme Court OKs move to make generic Viagra
By The Canadian Press - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 10:06 AM - 0 Comments
OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada has invalidated the Viagra patent held by…
OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada has invalidated the Viagra patent held by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, opening the marketplace to cheaper versions of the popular erectile dysfunction drug.
In a 7-0 decision, the high court sided with Teva Canada’s challenge of the legitimacy of the patent. It annulled Pfizer’s patent, saying it tried to “game” the system.
The decision has big implications for users of erectile dysfunction drugs and the pharmaceutical industry because it allows companies to create generic versions that are usually cheaper for consumers.
The Teva victory means the company can begin selling its own version of the drug.
The ruling wipes out Pfizer’s market dominance with Viagra. Its patent was to have expired in 2014.
The case also has broad commercial implications for patent law.
The Patent Act gives a company a 16-year monopoly on a product if it can prove it is a new invention.
In return, the patent-holding company must show publicly in its application how it created its product, so others can copy it later.
“Pfizer gained a benefit from the act — exclusive monopoly rights — while withholding disclosure in spite of its disclosure obligations under the act,” Justice Louis LeBel wrote on behalf of the court. “As a matter of policy and sound statutory interpretation, patentees cannot be allowed to ‘game’ the system in this way. This, in my view, is the key issue in this appeal.
“Pfizer had the information needed to disclose the useful compound and chose not to release it.”
This case turned on whether Pfizer deliberately thwarted Teva’s ability to copy the key chemical compound of the drug.
Teva challenged the validity of the Pfizer patent, claiming it did not meet the law’s disclosure requirements.
In its original patent application, Pfizer listed a massive number of chemical compounds, but didn’t specify which was the one that actually worked.
Pfizer obtained the patent in 1998 after applying four years earlier. It was first challenged by the generic drug maker in 2007.
Teva originally questioned Pfizer’s patent in Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal, but lost at both levels.
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‘It’s naive’
By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 10:00 AM - 0 Comments
NDP MP Brian Masse questions the pro sports leagues’ opposition to Joe Comartin’s sports betting bill.
“I don’t understand their argument for Ontarians that it’s OK to bet on three games, but not two or one. Why is it OK for Ontarians to go to Vegas and bet on games, but not at Caesars Windsor? If you don’t regulate the issue, it’s organized crime that bettors turn to bet on sporting events.”
… Masse said the league’s argument that gambling could taint the integrity of the game isn’t credible when a number of team owners are already in the gaming industry. Detroit Red Wings owners Mike and Marian Ilitch own the Motor City Casino while Boston Bruins’ owner Jeremy Jacobs also has gaming interests. “I don’t think there’s a lot of merit to this (league’s objections), considering what’s included in some owners income streams,” Masse said. “It’s naïve, because anything that passes through the criminal element, ignoring it is not a solution. Doing the ostrich move, burying your head in the sand, is not beneficial to anyone, including the league’s own product.”
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Harper urges U.S. to avoid fiscal cliff
By The Canadian Press - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 9:59 AM - 0 Comments
BANGALORE, India – Stephen Harper is urging the United States Congress to find a…
BANGALORE, India – Stephen Harper is urging the United States Congress to find a solution to its so-called fiscal cliff — a looming fiscal deadline that could have significant economic repercussions for Canada.
“Obviously (this) would be immensely helped if the Americans could deal with this immediate issue and the Europeans could accelerate progress on their debt issues,” Harper said at the opening of a Canadian-managed Imax theatre in this thrumming Indian metropolis.
The fiscal cliff refers to a perfect storm of scheduled tax increases and spending cuts that could slow down the American economy if a sharply divided Congress can’t agree on how to intervene.
In the meantime, the prime minister says his government has back-up plans in the event the American economy goes sour again and the European situation becomes more dire.
Trade with countries outside of traditional markets — particularly India — is just one of those contingency ideas.
“We can as a country continue to look at all these worrying developments around the world and fret, but I think what really matters is we’re going to have a lot of these kinds of problems for a while — that’s my assessment,” said Harper.
“We’ve got to focus on the mid-term and keep making the decisions and changes necessary in our own country so that we realize the opportunities to create jobs and growth regardless of what may happen in the United States, Europe and other economies that have longer-term problems.”
Harper is winding down a six-day trip to India that is heavily focused on boosting bilateral trade and investment.
He announced on Thursday that Canada would transform a trade office in this high-tech capital into a full-blown consulate. Harper was also scheduled to meet Canadian business people with stakes in the Indian economy later in the day.
The prime minister and his wife Laureen managed to fit in a cultural stop as well, visiting a Hindu temple first established in the ninth century. A priest made an offering to a sacred shrine, blessed the Harpers with incense and then draped a floral garland around the prime minister’s neck.
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Molson Coors sees beer consumption slump amid NHL lockout
By Emily Senger - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 9:56 AM - 0 Comments
Molson Coors sales are flat in Canada amid an ongoing NHL player lockout and…
Molson Coors sales are flat in Canada amid an ongoing NHL player lockout and the company will likely ask for compensation after the lockout ends.
Hockey is the biggest driver of winter beer sales in Canada, CEO Peter Swinburn told The Canadian Press in an interview Wednesday. “Whether it’s people not actually physically going to the venues and consuming there, consuming in venues around the outlet before that, or indeed having NHL sort of parties at home, all of those occasions have disappeared off the map and you just can’t replicate them,” he said.
He said the company, which is the beer sponsor for the NHL, will ask for compensation, but the amount will depend on how long the lockout lasts. The Molson-Coors sponsorship deal is worth a reported $375 million.
The company is also predicting a challenging fourth quarter, reports The Wall Street Journal. “We expect the fourth quarter to be the most challenging of this year, with difficult profit comparisons in Canada and the U.K. and higher costs in the U.S. and Central Europe,” said Swinburn.
But there is some hope for Molson Coors, and for the hockey fans the company wants to drink its beer. Negotiations between the league and NHL Players’ Association went late Wednesday and though the two sides did not reach a deal, they were expected to continue talks Thursday.
Or, perhaps Molson Coors should take some advice from The Atlantic Wire, which suggests: “Molson Coors might think about getting Canadians excited about NBA basketball. They have plenty of games left to play!”
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Housing starts off in Oct. with drops in all regions: CMHC
By The Canadian Press - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 9:20 AM - 0 Comments
OTTAWA – Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., says the pace of housing starts slowed…
OTTAWA – Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., says the pace of housing starts slowed in October.
The agency says there were 17,507 actual starts last month.
That translates into a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 204,107 starts, down from an annual rate of 223,995 recorded in September.
The agency says there were drops in both single- and multiple-unit starts in urban areas last month.
Declines were recorded in all regions, with Quebec reporting the biggest drop at 16.9 per cent.
