Home for the holidays, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, his wife Laureen and their two children, Ben and Rachel, arrive home in Calgary for Christmas. (Larry MacDougal/Canadian Press)
Tougher times ahead
Don't expect more tax breaks or government spending in the next federal budget, to be unveiled in the spring, Prime Minister Stephen Harper told Canadians in a series of year-end interviews with different media outlets. In fact, he predicted 2008 will be "a more challenging economic year" because of growing problems south of the border in the U.S. housing and lending markets.
Harper also suggested Canadians might feel the pinch from new environmental measures that are being planned, trying out a theme that will likely be part of a spring election campaign, should that come to pass.
SEVEN MOST VIEWED
- Sat. Winter storm watch
- Sun. Blizzard hits Ontario
- Mon. Storm wallops Maritimes
- Tue. "Girl suffocates in snow bank
- Wed. Lotto theft
- Thur. Abuser gets four years
- Fri. Missing Quebec girl
The Conservative government has pledged to bring in tougher new emission standards in the spring, designed to reduce greenhouse gases by almost 20 per cent from 2006 levels over the next few years. At the same time, the government has signed on to a post-Kyoto plan reached at Bali, Indonesia, last weekend that might result in more stringent emission cuts than it has been anticipating.
Interview with Peter Mansbridge (Runs 17:53)
Good old Bess
Queen Elizabeth, another milestone (John Hrusa/Associated Press)
Queen Elizabeth II passed another milestone this week: At 81 and eight months, she is now officially the oldest reigning monarch in British (and Canadian) history, surpassing her great-great grandmother, Queen Victoria. Of course, she will have to remain on the throne until Sept. 9, 2015, to pass Victoria's record as the longest reigning British monarch.
Marking the event, the British version of Vogue magazine named Elizabeth one of the 50 most glamorous women in the world, noting that glamour is not what you wear but how you wear it.
Man of the year
Set to step down in three months — or is he? — Russian President Vladimir Putin officially threw his support behind an anointed successor, long-time aide Dmitry Medvedev. Putin also revealed that he would take up the post of prime minister once his eight-year term as president reaches its constitutionally mandated end, which should put a whole new spin on Kremlin politics.
Medvedev is encouraging the idea, which some see as a way for the popular Putin to continue running Russia under a new guise. Adding to his power base, Time magazine named Putin its Person of the Year for 2007, saying that he has put Moscow back on the international map even if Russia has paid a price in Western-style democracy.
Greener cars
U.S. President George W. Bush signed into law new emission standards for America's cars and trucks, which might be good news, relatively speaking, for North American automakers. As a result of the new federal law, the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency immediately overturned tougher auto standards adopted by California and 16 other states, representing 45 per cent of the U.S. market.
The EPA decision is almost certain to spark a long legal battle, which EPA lawyers reportedly are not confident of winning. It may also spill over into Canada where the federal government has promised to mandate tough standards equivalent to whichever ones are finally adopted in the U.S.
Also last week, the European Union mandated tough new CO2 standards for new cars sold there after 2012. Like the California law, the EU standards are being fought by car makers because they will most heavily penalize larger vehicles and, manufacturers say, skew the market in favour of smaller cars.
Some speciality manufacturers such as Ferrari, Porsche and Lamborghini, which make relatively few vehicles, may be exempt from the new rules.
Lottery charges
The Ontario Provincial Police charged a 60-year-old former convenience store owner with fraudulently claiming a $5.7 million lottery prize in January 2005, a few months after he allegedly told a group of four ticket-holders their ticket wasn't a winner. Police seized the man's multi-million-dollar home in Mississauga, just outside Toronto, and other assets.
They also said they were investigating other allegedly fraudulent prize winnings by lottery retailers and employees dating back to 1999, part of a pattern first identified by the CBC's the Fifth Estate.
In this particular case, three of the four ticket-holders had become suspicious that their colleague had secretly cashed the winning ticket on her own and they apparently hired a private detective to spy on her, the National Post reported.
ANC in turmoil
South African President Thabo Mbeki suffered a crushing defeat within his own party last week when arch-rival Jacob Zuma swept to the leadership of the ruling African National Congress. The remote and somewhat austere Mbeki remains president of the country until his term ends in May 2009. But the populist Zuma, a former guerrilla fighter and deputy president, who was sacked unceremoniously a few years back, will almost certainly present an alternative power base and a drag on Mbeki's ambition to be the head of a pan-African alliance.
Compounding the poisonous atmosphere, Zuma still faces rape and corruption charges, which have been hanging over his head for almost seven years and which he says are politically inspired by Mbeki supporters.
Chris Simon
Chris Simon, time out for anger management (Dan Heupel/Canadian Press)
NHL bad boy Chris Simon once again holds the record for NHL suspensions: The New York Islander forward received a 30-game suspension for deliberately stepping on Pittsburgh's Jarkko Ruttu with his skate.
This is Simon's seventh NHL suspension and some have argued that it should have been for life. He served a 25-game suspension at the end of last season for a two-hander to the throat of Ranger Ryan Hollweg. He has also been banned for kicking, kneeing, elbowing, cross-checking and uttering racial slurs.
One of the few aboriginal players in the league, Simon is considering enrolling in an anger management program offered by the league.
TALKING POINTS
- In a bid to attract tourists, the predominantly Muslim country of Kyrgyzstan on the northern border of China has named one of its mountains, Mount Santa Claus. Mount Santa joins Mount Lenin and Mount Yeltsin as honoured peaks. Kyrgyzstan is also hoping to hold a Santa Claus congress in the summer, a less busy time for Santa than this time of year.
- A man in the U.S. is raising eyebrows with his Smurf-like skin: 57-year-old Paul Karason's skin gradually turned dark blue 14 years ago as a result, doctors say, of drinking colloidal silver, a substance billed by some as a cure-all.
- After a review of evidence, U.S. researchers at the University of Indiana medical school have concluded that seven commonly held medical beliefs are mere myths. They are:
- You should drink at least eight glasses of water a day.
- Humans only use 10 per cent of their brains.
- Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death.
- Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight.
- Shaving causes hair to grow back faster or coarser.
- Cell phones are dangerous in hospitals.
- Eating turkey causes drowsiness.
