Life in Canada

Four years after Health Canada said it would impose strict limits on trans fats in food products if companies didn't reduce the fat content on their own, the department has failed to move on the promise, hinting challenges facing the industry could stymie their plans.

Tony Clement declared in 2007 while serving as health minister that food companies had two years to either meet specific targets for reducing trans fats in their products or face regulations in the absence of significant progress.

The government's trans fat monitoring program ended in December 2009 showing the majority of products in key categories - such as prepackaged baked goods - had failed to meet the targets.

After declaring last year that regulations were still on the table because further reductions were needed to fully meet the program's public-health objectives and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, Health Canada is now edging away from its threats of action.

When asked by Postmedia News if the government has opted against regulations, Health Canada said the department is working with industry to "clarify potential technical challenges that still remain in order to meet the reduction targets."

In a statement, Health Canada also said staff "will continue to analyze" the results of the final data set from December 2009 to understand why certain companies can't meet the targets, but the department is "very encouraged that in every food category analyzed, we have been successful examples of trans fats being reduced."

In Calgary, a ban on trans fat in restaurants was brought in as a bylaw under the Calgary Health Region in early 2008 and was enforced by health inspectors for a year.

It was dropped when the health regions were amalgamated into Alberta Health Services. A planned second phase would have limited trans fats in all foods sold in Calgary, including items in grocery stores.

At the time, many local eateries switched to trans fat free products and many continue to use them due to consumer demand for healthier choices.

"We like the product we're using right now," said Myrna Derowin, manager of Chicken on the Way in Kensington.

"You can still purchase the trans fat stuff, and it is a little cheaper, but we like what we're using and if someone asks, we can say it's trans fat free."

Alberta Health Services has banned trans fat from all food areas in its own facilities including hospitals and long-term-care facilities, but there are no plans to bring in an external policy said a spokesman.

Alberta Health and Wellness is also not considering any policies or legislation to limit trans fat in the province.

Kim Wagner Jones, a registered dietitian at the University of Calgary, said stronger government regulations either locally or federally would be a welcome help in reducing trans fat consumption.

'Time will tell' as it always does in Canada ..will it happen or not?

VANCOUVER — The riots that swept across London and other British cities this week already have resulted in more than 1,700 arrests, with some rioters already convicted and serving jail time of 4 years

But two months after the Stanley Cup riot in Vancouver, not a single rioter has been charged, despite dozens of people who turned themselves in and confessed after photos and videos were posted on the Internet.

The quick justice being meted out in London stems from a different system of justice, said Rob Gordon, a former British police officer who now is director of the criminology school at B.C.’s Simon Fraser University.

London police have the power to lay charges, he said, while in B.C., police have to recommend charges to the Crown, which then reviews the evidence and must decide whether a charge is in the public interest and if there is a substantial likelihood of conviction.

“It’s a much swifter justice process,” Gordon said of the London riot convictions coming days after the incident occurred.

He also pointed out that there is a sense of urgency in London because of continuing rioting in other cities in England. Five people were killed in the four nights of rioting that rocked the country.

Sentences have been swift and tough in England — one boy reportedly caught with a case of bottled water looted from a supermarket was given a six-month jail sentence.

Gordon said he can understand why people here in Canada are curious that no charges have been laid for any of the incidents of setting police cars on fire, smashing windows and looting stores that so appalled average citizens.

“It isn’t very speedy,” he said of our system of justice.

Vancouver police declined to comment Friday on the differences between the two justice systems, referring a Vancouver Sun reporter to its detailed July 20 news release, which said 37 people had turned themselves in, including seven females, and 111 people had been identified as suspects.

The news release said the 50-person integrated riot investigation team was reviewing thousands of images of rioters captured by cellphones, plus police said earlier there are another 1,500 hours of video.

Crown spokesman Neil MacKenzie said Friday that four Vancouver prosecutors are continuing to work with police to make sure all the available evidence is looked at before laying charges.

“There’s a massive amount of information,” he explained, adding the Crown and police don’t want someone charged, only to find later that the person was involved in another riot incident.

“We both want to be in a position to be satisfied we have all the available evidence with respect to a suspect,” MacKenzie said. “It can be potentially disadvantageous to the Crown proceeding to court with only partial information.”

The Crown did receive eight files from Vancouver police recommending charges days after the riot. But those files were sent back to police for additional information that was required, MacKenzie said.

So far, only two people have been charged for an assault that took place during the riot which erupted in downtown Vancouver after the hometown Canucks lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final to the Boston Bruins on June 15.

Edgar Ricardo Garcia, 20, has been charged with aggravated assault and will next appear in court Aug. 19; Joshua Lyle Evans, 27, was charged with possession of a dangerous weapon and will appear in court Sept. 27.

After Evans was charged, his lawyer, Matthew Nathanson suggested that Evans disarmed a man with a knife who had stabbed Evans’ friend, so Evans should not have been charged.

Police looked into the lawyer’s complaint and have since passed along new information to the Crown, which still is under review, MacKenzie said

UK riots: New discipline measures
Education Secretary Michael Gove has said measures he is introducing will help tackle concerns about the absence of discipline shown by recent violence.

Mr Gove told BBC Breakfast it was too early to say what the cause or causes of the violence was. adding but people had raised legitimate concerns over an "absence of discipline in the home and in the school".

Mr Gove said he had worked for 15 months on restoring a "culture of adult authority in our schools". He added that measures coming into force on 1 September would also mean that discipline "is taken more seriously".

"Teachers will be given additional powers to deal with poor behaviour and we have made it clear that when teachers exercise authority we will support them and the legal system," he said.

These measures include giving teachers greater power to search pupils for banned items, giving anonymity to teachers facing allegations, and removing the requirement for 24 hours' notice for detentions.

Also, appeals panels will also not be able to send children back to a school from which they have been excluded.

"I think the balance has shifted too far in favour of people, often young people, who say 'I know my rights'," Mr Gove said.

Mr Gove said that poverty or disadvantage should not be blamed for the violence, saying that ultimately it was a question of morals and values.

"There are people in tough circumstances who would never think of stealing. And I think it's an insult to the majority of people in this country who are trying hard, at a difficult time to make the best of their lives, to somehow link poverty and criminality," he said.

He said this was a critical moment to show that people who want to do well should work hard and devote themselves to their career rather than going for the "instant gratification" of "gangsta culture".

Mr Gove's sentiments were echoed later by Prime Minister David Cameron, who said after a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency meeting that parts of society were "sick" and there needed to be a greater sense of "responsibility".

And London Mayor Boris Johnson raised the question, during an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, of the need for some sort of government programme such as the National Citizen's Service to give a sense of purpose to people who might otherwise join gangs.

Traders in Paris French banking shares have been most affected by the recent market turbulence
France, Italy, Spain and Belgium have banned short-selling on the shares of banks and other financial companies. I suspect the same is happening on the oil stocks.

It follows sharp gains and losses in bank stocks in recent days, especially in France, on fears about their exposure to eurozone government debt.

Societe Generale has been the worst affected by the volatility, being forced on Wednesday to deny that its financial stability was at risk.

Short-selling is when traders profit from bets on the fall in a share price.

It has been blamed for increasing recent market instability.

Short-sellers usually borrow shares or bonds, sell them, then buy them back when the stock falls - pocketing the difference.

"Naked" short-selling is when a trader sells financial instruments he has not yet borrowed.

All forms of short-selling are included in the ban.
'Irrational fears'

The announcement was made both by the European Union's markets supervisor, ESMA, and the four national markets authorities.

France's agency, the AMF, said it was banning short-selling on 11 banking and insurance stocks for 15 days, including France's three largest banks, Societe Generale, BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole.

In Thursday trading on Societe Generale's share price started up 8%, before falling by the same amount, and then recovering to finish 3% higher.

Societe Generale chief executive Frederic Oudea said the speculation about his bank was "absolutely rubbish".

Mr Oudea also spoke to France Info radio. "People are scared," he said, "so the tiniest information touches off irrational fears. To our clients, we have to tell them that these rumours are baseless and that they can have confidence in Societe Generale."

Spain's market regulator, the CNMV, also said its ban would be in place for 15 days. It added that it could also extend the period if required.

"The situation of extreme volatility in European stock markets, especially for shares of financial entities, is clearly affecting the stability of the markets and can disrupt their ordered functioning," it said in a statement.

Spanish banks included in the ban are Santander, BBVA, Sabadell, Bankinter, Banco Popular, and Banca Civica.

Greece banned short-selling on Monday.

Investors are concerned about European banks, because of their large exposure to the government debt of highly indebted eurozone countries such as Greece.

The fear is that the banks will have to write-down the value of their holdings in the government bonds of these nations.

French banks are the most exposed, hence they have been the worst affected by the market turmoil of recent days.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are meeting on Tuesday to discuss solutions to Europe's financial difficulties.

OTTAWA - Canada's trade deficit with the world expanded to $1.6 billion in June, in a sign of just how slow the economy grew in the second quarter.

The trade deficit for the month, hit by a drop in energy and automotive exports, compared with a $1-billion deficit in May, Statistics Canada reported Thursday.

"Problems facing Canadian exporters have clearly been too much: a persistently strong Canadian dollar, weak U.S. demand, and Japanese supply disruptions, to name a few," "The export sector is clearly in no position to take on the responsibility of being the major driver of growth going forward and it appears that economic growth in the coming quarters could be weaker than originally anticipated.

Statistics Canada said merchandise exports fell 1.7 per cent in June, while imports were off 0.2 per cent.

"Given the recent financial turmoil hammering global markets in recent weeks, the Bank of Canada is likely to view today's news as additional support to keep monetary policy accommodative for an extended period of time,"

The trade surplus with the United States slipped to $3.6 billion in June from $3.7 billion in May and the trade deficit with countries other than the United States grew to a record $5.2 billion in June from $4.8 billion in May.

Exports fell to $36.5 billion, while merchandise imports fell to $38 billion.

Exports to the United States declined 2.4 per cent to $26.5 billion, while imports fell 2.3 per cent to $22.8 billion.

Have I got this right, 'so we export energy and import merchandise. It sounds like we've managed to export one more thing as well: the value-added jobs that make the economy run.' Way to go, free-traders! At this rate, we'll be a Third World country in no time.

Peter Hall, chief economist for Export and Development Canada, noted there were a number of disruptions in the first half of the year for Canadian exports, including those caused by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami's effect on the automotive sector.

"So some of the slowdown in momentum that we're seeing at the moment is not a demand problem, it is a supply problem," However Hall said he will be watching carefully to see if the economy does indeed rebound from the factors that constrained growth in the first half of the year or if the financial chaos forces consumers and businesses to stop spending in the back end of 2011.

"We're really at a point of decision at the moment. It is a point of consumer and business decision, what are they actually going to do,"
"Will they lose more confidence or will they see through this."

Imports from countries other than the United States for the month increased 3.1 per cent to a record high of $15.2 billion. Exports to countries other than the United States edged up 0.3 per cent to $10 billion.

Exports of energy products fell 5.1 per cent to $8.7 billion, as both volume and prices dropped. Automotive exports fell 5.3 per cent to $4.5 billion.

Shipments of agricultural and fishing products declined 2.3 per cent to $3.2 billion.

Industrial goods and materials exports increased 0.9 per cent to $9.5 billion on the strength of metals, alloys and chemicals, plastics and fertilizers. The increases were partly offset by reduced exports of metal ores, mainly nickel ores, concentrates and scrap.

Energy imports declined 11.7 per cent to $4.2 billion, with both volumes and prices down. Imports of industrial goods and materials declined 0.5 per cent to $8.2 billion.

Machinery and equipment imports rose for a fourth consecutive month, rising 2.5 per cent to $10.6 billion.

Imports of other consumer goods increased 2.1 per cent to $5.0 billion driven mainly by clothing and shows.

Teenagers who regularly log in to their Facebook page and other social media will get lower grades at school, according to a US study.

They are also likely to have behavioural problems and narcissistic tendencies from spending too much time logged on to the site. According to the research popular social network sites, like Facebook, are having a negative effect on teenagers as they grow up.

Psychology professor Larry Rosen said researchers watched as students spent 15 minutes studying something that was important to them. He said the research team at California State University were 'staggered' as the students concentration lapsed because of the need to check their Facebook page.

'What we found was mind-boggling,' said Rosen.
'About every three minutes they are off-task. You'd think under these constraints, knowing that someone is observing you, that someone would be more on task.

'The more media they consumed per day, the worse students they were.
'If they checked Facebook just once during 15 minutes, they were worse students.'

Psychological disorders: Children who overuse social sites and technology on a daily basis are also more likely to be prone to bouts of anxiety

Rosen delivered his findings in a speech at the 19th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association entitled ‘Poke Me: How Social Networks Can Both Help and Harm Our Kids’.

He said: 'While nobody can deny that Facebook has altered the landscape of social interaction, particularly among young people, we are just now starting to see solid psychological research demonstrating both the positives and the negatives.

Rosen said the negative effects of teenagers overusing social media include making them more prone to vain, aggressive and anti social behaviour.

Researchers discovered that children under 13 and teens who overuse social sites and technology on a daily basis are also more likely to be prone to bouts of anxiety, depression and other psychological disorders as well as sleeping problems and stomach aches.

Rosen’s study also found that social networking had some positive effects for teens and said they helped shy children interact more.

The professor said parents should keep a check on their children's online activities.

An Aside:
The crises at the heart of the international financial and political systems in my view go beyond the debt woes currently gripping the Western world and to the heart of the way the global economy has been run for over two decades.

After relying on it to deliver years of growth, lift millions from poverty, keep living standards rising and citizens happy, nation states look to have lost control of globalization.

In the short term, that leaves policymakers looking impotent in the face of fast-moving markets and other uncontrolled and perhaps uncontrollable systems -- undermining their authority and potentially helping fuel a wider backlash and social unrest.

In the longer run, there are already signs the world could repeat the mistakes of the 1930s and retreat into protectionism and political polarization. There are few obvious solutions, and some of the underlying problems have been building for a long time.

"In times of economic recession, countries tend to become isolationist and retrench from globalization," says Celina Realuyo, assistant professor of National Security affairs at the US National Defense University in Washington DC.

"Given the increased number of stakeholders on any issue -- climate change, the global financial system, cyber security -- it is unclear how traditional nation states can lead on any issue, let alone build consensus globally," she said.

The financial system, the Internet and even the supply chains for natural resources have quietly slipped beyond effective forms of state control.

These instruments of globalization have delivered huge wealth and kept economies moving with arguably greater efficiency, but can also swiftly turn on those in authority.

Just as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak discovered that shutting down the Internet was not enough to prevent social-media fueled protest overthrowing him, the world's most powerful nation states are confronting their helplessness in controlling markets and financial flows.

Technology and deregulation allow both information and assets to be transferred around the world faster than ever before -- perhaps faster than states can possibly control, even with sophisticated laws, censorship and other controls.

The broad consensus at the 2009 London G20 meeting has already been replaced by a much uglier tone of polarization and mutual recrimination at both domestic and international levels.

Where once they would have lobbied quietly, Russia and China now angrily criticize the United States, with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin describing it as an economic "parasite."

In the United States and Europe, far right groups including the Tea Party, eurosceptics and nationalist forces look to be rising, sometimes potentially blocking policy-making. On the left, calls grow for greater controls on unfettered markets and capital.

Over the past year, global currency valuations have become the source of new international tensions as major states accuse each other of "competitive devaluation" to boost exports.

In cyberspace, nations worry powerful computer attacks on essential systems could one day spark war, with rows over cyber spying already fuelling mutual distrust.

CENSORSHIP, CONTROLS IMPOSSIBLE?

It's unlikely that nations can genuinely pull back from globalised systems on which they have become reliant.

"The Net sees censorship as damage and routes around it," computer science guru John Gilmore said in 1993. In the modern, high-speed globalised system, one could say the same of attempts at financial and economic restrictions.

Many areas of the global economy have also become effectively "ungoverned space" into which a host of actors -- from criminals to international firms such as Google and Goldman Sachs to countless other individuals and groups -- have enthusiastically jumped.

International companies and rich individuals move money -- and even entire manufacturing operations -- from jurisdiction to jurisdiction to seek low wages, avoid tax, regulation and sometimes even detection. In many states, that helped fuel a growing wealth gap that is self producing new tensions.

Some argue demands to impose new controls may miss the point. In any case, many of the current crises in the system are the result of attempts to control or distort markets and economic flows.

"Ironically, the theory was always that.. the (euro) single currency would stop the unpleasant capitalists from destabilizing Europe," says Charles Robertson, chief economist at Russian-British bank Renaissance Capital, pointing to its intention of freeing European states from never-ending local foreign exchange hassles.

"So the short answer is no, without massive capital controls, states cannot stop this."

Arguably, the wider global financial system has similar inbuilt problems and imbalances -- but after decades of being largely ignored, they look to be unraveling rapidly, by the same fast-moving markets that previously fed them.

That is a problem not just for already struggling Western countries but the emerging powerhouses some hoped would replace them as a source of global leadership.

UNSUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS UNRAVEL?

"For most of the last decade, growth and economic activity in many places has been driven by forces that were inherently unsustainable," says Simon Derrick, head of foreign exchange at Bank of New York Mellon.

"What's happening now is these... are coming under pressure and it's getting to the stage where that can no longer be ignored. But none of these issues are going to be politically easy to do anything about."

Low U.S. interest rates and taxes particularly after 9/11 and the dot-com crash fueled the asset booms that produced the credit crunch.

But they were only sustainable in part because U.S. government spending -- including on expensive foreign wars -- was effectively underwritten by emerging economies, particularly China, buying up their debt.

Beijing could make those purchases because it was earning billions from soaring exports underpinned by what most observers agree was an unrealistically low-pegged currency.

Those dynamics fueled record economic growth that help to maintain domestic stability. If that slows, some worry unrest could return -- particularly if Chinese Internet controls and other domestic security measures prove as unable to control dissent as the admittedly less sophisticated systems of North Africa.

Critics say most attempted financial crisis fixes -- bailouts and stimuli-- have simply "kicked the can down the road," providing short-term relief but little more.

"Nobody's kicking a bigger can with more force than the Chinese government," wrote Ian Bremmer, president of political risk consultancy Eurasia Group. "The entrenched dominance of their state-led economy has created the greatest near-term buffer to instability in the developing world... (but it is also) by far, the most unsustainable and volatile long-term."

For the past decade, Canada’s GHG emission targets were framed by the Kyoto Protocol, in which Canada committed to a 6% reduction in emissions by 2012 relative to 1990 levels (590 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, or Mt CO2e). In spite of signing this treaty and its ratification through Parliament in 2002, Canada has continued to increase emissions. A legacy for our Grandchildren for sure..

In 2009, Canada’s 690 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2e) emissions were 17% higher than 1990 levels. But using 2009 makes us look better than we are due to the impact of the recession. In 2008 emissions (734 Mt) were 24% higher; in 2007 (748 Mt), 27% higher.

Having abandoned responsibility for adhering to the Kyoto Protocol, Canada signed on to a Kyoto replacement, scandalously cobbled together in Copenhagen in 2009. Under this new deal, our commitment is the same as the US, to reduce GHG emissions to 17% below 2005 levels by 2020 (a new target of 607 Mt).

Currently, there is a wide gap between this commitment and emissions reduction planning from federal and provincial governments. A new report from Environment Canada, Canada’s Emission Trends, estimates that existing government actions are expected to reduce GHG emissions by about one-quarter of the reductions in GHG emissions needed to meet the 2020 target. Under business-as-usual conditions, emissions will soar to 850 Mt in 2020; with existing government actions, only to 785 Mt.

Alas, even this commitment is cast under doubt by a new report from the National Roundtable on the Environment and Economy, one of those distinguished panels the feds love to appoint. They look backward and evaluate programs implemented for their effectiveness and find that Canada’s actions achieved only about half of what had been predicted (good synopsis here).

One wonders why the feds even bother issuing reports like Canada’s Emission Trends when they show off a government that is failing to move on its own inadequate targets. It is like a thumbing of the nose to the rest of the world: “sure, we’ll sign yer dang treaty but don’t expect us to actually implement anything.”

But I’m glad the report is out because one useful thing it does is break down emissions by industrial category, rather than the more opaque “sources of emissions” in the Kyoto accounting system. We learn that (surprise, surprise) the oil and gas industry will account for 46 Mt (86%) of Canada’s anticipated increase in emissions between 2005 and 2020. It also shows the rise of the oil sands as a source of GHG emissions. Emissions from the oil sands are anticipated to triple to 92 Mt in 2020 relative to 30 Mt in 2005 (this is somewhat offset by a drop conventional oil production).

Will the newer Chinese oil-sands owners be able to reverse the Canadian Governments upward trends of GHG..What do you think?

And these are only the emissions from getting the gunk out of the ground and any processing in Canada; emissions from burning those fossil fuels in the US are several times larger, but those count in the US inventory.

Bottom line: Canada cannot achieve its Copenhagen commitment until it takes on the oil and gas industry and compels emission reductions by putting a moratorium on new development, and phasing out the existing industry. As long as Stephen Harper is Prime Minister, such action is unthinkable (though please surprise me, Steve). So Canada’s reputation for not living up to its international commitments will continue to worsen, and any announcements to the contrary should be captured and sequestered underground where they hopefully will not leak back to the surface.

The weakening global economy is bad news for Canadian trade, and when the latest statistics are released Thursday 11th August they are likely to show the country’s trade deficit getting worse.

Canada started the year with a promising trade surplus, buoyed by rising oil prices. But the months of April, May and June have seen a persistent, and growing, deficit, with imports outstripping exports.

Economists estimate the trade deficit will cut three or four percentage points off overall economic growth in the second quarter. While the Bank of Canada predicts overall gross domestic product growth of 1.5 per cent in April-June period, other forecasts see less than 1 per cent.

With oil prices declining and last week’s harrowing stock market swoon highlighting the uncertain economic picture, the outlook for commodity-driven Canadian trade is darkening.

“The global economy is losing momentum,” said David Madani of Capital Economics in Toronto. “What we’re seeing in the financial markets is a reflection of that reality.”

Capital Economics, like some other firms, forecasts lower commodity prices, which will cut into the value of Canadian exports such as oil and coal. Though it doesn’t believe the United States will suffer a double-dip recession, the trade picture is likely to remain difficult for some time because of persistent weakness in the U.S. economy as consumers and governments battle with debt.

“In a world that’s deleveraging, economic growth is hard to come by,” Mr. Madani said. “Markets are coming to that cold hard reality.”

U.S. trade stats are also due Thursday. A deficit of $48-billion (U.S.) is predicted by economists for June, an improvement from May as the lower U.S. dollar helps lower prices for American goods abroad. (China, on Wednesday, is expected to report a $27-billion trade surplus for June.)

The negative outlook for Canadian trade is exacerbated by several factors. A strong Canadian dollar is helping the import picture but hurts the situation for exporters. But falling oil prices are the single biggest negative. After climbing from last September through April to about $115 a barrel, oil steadily slid before spiking lower in the past week, alongside equity markets.

Oil exports in 2010 were $52-billion (Canadian), the country’s biggest single product, accounting for one-eighth of all of Canada’s merchandise trade exports. The commodity exceeds the value of all of Canada’s exports to the United Kingdom, China, Japan, Mexico and Germany, the country’s five largest trading partners after the U.S.

Even as oil slips, Canadian trade fits into the theme of a split between the economy in Western Canada compared with the East.

At Port Metro Vancouver, Canada’s busiest trading hub, new statistics highlight that strong export picture, bolstered by gains in commodities such as lumber from British Columbia and Saskatchewan potash to Asia.

At facilities on the Burrard Inlet in Vancouver and elsewhere in the Lower Mainland, activity is as busy as ever. Container traffic is set to reach another record this year, led by a 12-per-cent gain in full boxes carrying Canadian exports (compared with a 1-per-cent gain in imported containers).

Cargo stats, measured by tonnage, show exports up 2 per cent and imports down 4 per cent.

“We’re seeing the East-West difference of the economy in Canada,” said Robin Silvester, chief executive officer of Port Metro Vancouver, which is seeking to expand and sees strong long-term positive trends.

“We’re much more bullish than you would infer from the stock market.”