http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/national National News brought to you by Tbnewswatch.com Thu, 23 May 2013 00:46:39 GMT 5 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/images/tbnewswatchlogo.JPG http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/national http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/national/280865/Canada-lifts-lifetime-ban-on-gay-men-giving-blood TORONTO - Canada is lifting the lifetime ban on blood donation by gay men, though serious restrictions will remain in place. Canadian Blood Services says men who have not had sex with other men within the last five years will be allowed to donate blood when the new policy comes into effect this summer. Agency executive Dr. Dana Devine acknowledges some people will feel that the deferral period is too long, but she says the agency will review it over time. A number of other countries already allow gay men to give blood, and some use a shorter deferral period than Canada has settled on. In Britain and Australia, gay men who haven't had sex with other men for at least a year are eligible to give blood and in South Africa the deferral period is six months. Those who had been campaigning for Canada to drop its lifetime ban had been advocating for a period of 12 months. "We recognize that many people will feel that this change does not go far enough, but given the history of the blood system in Canada, we see this as a first and prudent step forward on this policy," said Devine, who is vice-president of medical, scientific and research affairs at Canadian Blood Services. "It's the right thing to do and we are committed to regular review of this policy as additional data emerge and new technologies are implemented." The shadow of Canada's tainted blood scandal has loomed over discussions to change the blood donation policy, discussions which have dragged on over years. In 1980s, before the Red Cross began to test donated blood for HIV, hundreds of Canadians were infected with HIV and-or hepatitis C. On the recommendation of the Krever inquiry, a Royal Commission into the affair, the Red Cross was stripped of responsibility for Canada's blood supply. Canadian Blood Services and Hema-Quebec were set up to take over the task.     Wed, 22 May 2013 10:44:34 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/national/280865/Canada-lifts-lifetime-ban-on-gay-men-giving-blood http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/national/280922/Ford-brother-calls-on-media-to-stop-'harassment'-over-alleged-crack-video TORONTO - Toronto Mayor Rob Ford still isn't saying much about allegations that a cellphone video appears to show him smoking crack cocaine, but Doug Ford says his brother has told him the reports are untrue and he believes him. Doug Ford insisted at a news conference today that Rob Ford has already addressed the allegations by calling them "ridiculous." He also called on the media to stop "harassing" members of his family, saying never before has a mayor been so zealously targeted. Rob Ford dismissed the allegations on Friday as a Toronto Star smear job, but has not commented since then so reporters have been following him to try to get him to talk. U.S.-based website Gawker and the Star separately reported on Thursday that a drug dealer was shopping around a cellphone video that appeared to show Ford smoking crack. The publications said their staff had viewed the footage and taken notes about its contents, but neither had purchased the video. Gawker has been trying to crowdsource $200,000 to buy and publicly post the footage. By Wednesday afternoon, it had raised more than $110,000.   Wed, 22 May 2013 14:32:52 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/national/280922/Ford-brother-calls-on-media-to-stop-'harassment'-over-alleged-crack-video http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/national/280864/Toronto-mayor-targeted-by-late-night-TV-show-hosts TORONTO - Toronto's deputy mayor says it's unfortunate that the city is finding itself the butt of jokes on late night U.S. talk shows over the latest Rob Ford scandal. Allegations that the mayor was recorded on video appearing to smoke crack cocaine became fodder for both Jimmy Kimmel and Jon Stewart on their shows Tuesday night. Doug Holyday says he didn't see the shows, but he wants people to know Toronto is a "great place" to visit and he wants them to come to the city for "the right reasons." On “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Kimmel conducted a mock interview via Skype with a Ford look-alike jumping up and down and smoking a crack pipe. "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" dedicated several minutes to Ford, including a segment with two comedians billed as "senior Canadian correspondents" in Toronto who said smoking crack is one of Canada's most cherished pastimes. Ford himself has said little about the alleged video, other than a brief comment on Friday when he called the allegations “ridiculous." Holyday says he doesn't know exactly why Ford has declined to directly address the allegations, other than it may have been on the advice of lawyers. "The only thing that I've been able to get from him and some people on his staff is that the lawyers that they're dealing with have suggested that the less they say at this point, the better. For what reason that is, I don't know," Holyday said Wednesday. On Thursday, the U.S.-based website Gawker and the Toronto Star separately reported that a crack dealer was shopping around a cellphone video that appeared to show Ford smoking the drug. Gawker has been trying to crowd-source $200,000 to buy and publicly post the footage and had raised more than $104,000 by early Wednesday.     Wed, 22 May 2013 10:43:14 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/national/280864/Toronto-mayor-targeted-by-late-night-TV-show-hosts http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/national/280863/Canadian-housing-starts-to-plunge-by-2015-Mortgage-lobby TORONTO - The association representing Canada's mortgage industry is warning that new-home construction will drop dramatically within the next two years, resulting in a loss of about 80,000 construction and related jobs by mid-2015. The association says the housing industry has begun to show the impact from the federal government's decision to tighten rules for mortgage loans and it projects the trend will continue. It projects the level of housing starts dropping to about 150,000 units nationally by late next year — a 25 per cent decline from the 2011-2012 average of 205,000. CAAMP predicts the Toronto area faces an especially big slowdown, with the number of housing starts falling by about 20,000 to 22,000 units — less than half the 45,500 units started in each of 2011 and 2012. The Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals based its estimates on a number of sources, including an online survey of about 2,000 Canadian homeowners and renters that was conducted in April by Maritz.   Wed, 22 May 2013 10:42:32 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/national/280863/Canadian-housing-starts-to-plunge-by-2015-Mortgage-lobby http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/national/280867/Senate-back-to-business-despite-scandal OTTAWA - "Colleagues, there can be no business as usual. Enough is enough." The clarion call from James Cowan, the Liberal leader in the Senate, came late Tuesday evening as Parliament's chamber of sober second thought returned from a 10-day break to assess the damage. Since the 105-seat appointed body last met more than a week earlier, a five-alarm expense scandal had engulfed Parliament Hill, taking down two more Conservative senators and Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief of staff, Nigel Wright. In short, three Conservatives and one Liberal senator had been accused of fudging their expense accounts to claim tens of thousands of dollars to which they were not entitled. And Wright had confessed to writing a secret, $90,000 personal cheque to bail out the most high profile of the three, Mike Duffy, in the midst of a Senate committee investigation that subsequently cleared Duffy of any wrongdoing. Duffy stopped co-operating with a forensic audit as soon as he paid off his arrears with Wright's "gift" and, according to CTV, had told others he'd won a deal from the Prime Minister's Office to "go easy" on him. Harper himself had addressed an emergency Conservative caucus meeting Tuesday morning, where he underlined the gravity of the situation by inviting in the television cameras and telling his MPs "I don't think any of you are going to be very surprised to hear that I am not happy." He also issued clear instructions to his Senate Leader, Marjory LeBreton, "to accelerate changes to the Senate's rules on expenses and close any loopholes in those existing rules." James Moore, the Conservative Heritage minister, went so far as to encourage Duffy to resign his Senate seat. Expectations were high when the Senate finally convened around the dinner hour Tuesday. Cowan, a former lawyer, opened the Senate question period with prosecutorial vigour, levelling short, direct questions at LeBreton across the aisle. Why did the Senate report on Duffy not contain the same harsh language that was directed at former Liberal Mac Harb and excommunicated Tory Patrick Brazeau, given that all three were accused of exactly the same transgressions? "In the case of Sen. Duffy, since the money had been repaid, I understand the case was made ... that there was different wording used," LeBreton offered. "What's the connection?" shot back Cowan. LeBreton then suggested that tougher language in the Harb and Brazeau reports was designed to get them to pay up, too. But she was forced to confess she didn't really know. The only person answering questions on the government side in the Senate was not part of the internal economy committee that met behind closed doors to hash out the Duffy report. "I can only surmise they discussed these things," LeBreton said when confronted by Liberal committee member Joan Fraser. After the daily Senate question period, Cowan raised a point of privilege, stating that the PMO's demonstrable interference in the Duffy investigation was "contempt of parliament" that infringed on his "privileges as a senator, and it infringes the privileges of senators and the Senate and interferes in a spectacular way." The Speaker took the matter under advisement. Harb rose on his own point of privilege, arguing he's being asked to repay housing expenses even though auditors found no clear rules on what constitutes a primary residence. Independent Senator Ann Cools rose to Harb's defence. "I heard a lot of calls today that this senator should quit or that senator should quit," she said, noting the senate is designed to make senators independent and hard to dismiss. "It's supposed to be a difficult process." Cools was the only senator to raise the issue of expulsion or resignation in any fashion. The majority Conservatives then set to work, pushing through a motion that will send Duffy's expense report back to the same Conservative-dominated committee that let him off the hook the first time around. "It's up to the board of internal economy to call in the authorities," said P.C. Nolin, speaking for the government side. The Conservatives also pushed through a motion adopting the suspect committee's report on Brazeau's expenses, but dropped a motion that would have stiffened up reporting rules for Senate expenses such as taxi chits. A little over a week ago the Conservatives accused the Liberals of blocking reforms because they'd insisted on reading the expense changes before adopting them. Tuesday night they fell off the agenda. Claude Carignan, the deputy Conservative Senate leader, said as he left the upper chamber that because LeBreton wasn't prepared to speak to the expenses motion Tuesday night, it was delayed until Wednesday. As for sending Duffy's expenses back to same internal economy committee that gave preferential treatment to Duffy before, Carignan disagreed. "I think the committee did a great job," he told The Canadian Press. "Sen. LeBreton explained that is it different because the fee (owed by Duffy) accepted to repay, so it's totally different. We don't need to go with more information or more motivation in our report," said Carignan, adding "it's not bad faith." Cowan had another take. "If somebody wasn't sanitizing the report going easy on Sen. Duffy, then what is the answer?" asked Cowan. There were no answers Tuesday night. It was business as usual.     Wed, 22 May 2013 10:46:28 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/national/280867/Senate-back-to-business-despite-scandal http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/national/280810/Bair-takes-heat,-Harper-says-little-about-scandal OTTAWA - A "very upset" Prime Minister Stephen Harper tried to settle down a scandal-rattled Conservative caucus Tuesday with talk of accountability and Senate reform, but shed no new light on the $90,000 transaction that cost him his chief of staff. Conservative MPs and senators heading into Tuesday's caucus meeting had hoped Harper would provide more facts behind the growing scandal that forced his right-hand man, Nigel Wright, to resign over the weekend. But if Harper's speech — opened up on this occasion to the media, a rarity — was any indication, they didn't get much. "I don't think any of you are going to be very surprised to hear that I am not happy," Harper said in his first public comments since revelations last week that Wright wrote a personal cheque worth $90,000 to embattled Sen. Mike Duffy. "I'm very upset about the conduct we have witnessed, the conduct of some parliamentarians and the conduct of my own office." Harper didn't go into detail, however, about just how involved he or his office was in helping Duffy repay living expenses he shouldn't have claimed in the first place. Nor did he go any farther behind closed doors — sources told The Canadian Press that while MPs pressed for more details during the meeting on his office's role in bailing out Duffy, they didn't get any. The matter is in the hands of the federal ethics commissioner who can be trusted to sort things out, many suggested. "Trust me, they ask all the questions and they get to the bottom of the matters and that is the appropriate place, and that's where the ethics commissioner's report comes up," said Labour Minister Lisa Raitt. "It will be transparent and we will be accountable." Ethics commissioner Mary Dawson confirmed she had "today launched an examination under the Conflict of Interest Act of Mr. Nigel Wright's involvement in the repayment of a Senator's expenses." The commissioner had no further comment on whether Wright broke ethics rules by giving Duffy what was initially described as a gift to help pay back his disallowed housing expenses. The payment was used by Duffy as an excuse to stop co-operating with an ongoing audit of his expenses. The issue of Duffy's expense claims will also be reviewed anew by the Senate internal economy committee, which Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird referred to as an "independent" body on Tuesday. "We look forward to the results of these reviews," Baird said. Duffy left Conservative caucus last Thursday while Wright resigned from his post on Sunday. The prime minister's office said last week that Wright was not expecting to be repaid by Duffy, but suggested there was an agreement in place between the two men. "The only stipulation on the money to Duffy — sent to him through his lawyer — was that an equal amount be sent to the Receiver General from Duffy on the same day to cover the impugned claims," Harper spokesman Andrew MacDougall said in an email. CTV reported on Monday that a formal agreement was written up governing the terms of the payment but Baird repeatedly fended off a barrage of questions Tuesday in the Commons by saying there was no written deal. "Our understanding is that there is no such agreement," he said. Benjamin Perrin, the lawyer reportedly used by the Prime Minister's Office to draft the arrangement, also issued his own denial. "I was not consulted on, and did not participate in, Nigel Wright's decision to write a personal cheque to reimburse Sen. Duffy’s expenses," Perrin said in a statement. "I have never communicated with the prime minister on this matter." Meanwhile, questions still linger as to whether the transaction between Duffy and Wright came with a commitment that the Senate committee investigating Duffy's claims would go easy on him. Liberal Senate leader James Cowan argued on the Senate floor Tuesday night that Harper's office violated the sacrosanct privileges of parliamentarians, and may well be in contempt of Parliament. If Senate Speaker Noel Kinsella finds there appears to be a breach of parliamentary privilege, he could send the issue to a special committee for further study. Such a Senate committee would enjoy the privilege of summoning any witness it wants on the matter, including Wright or others from Harper's office. Also on Tuesday night, the Conservative majority in the Senate voted to have Duffy's improper expenses sent back for study to the same closed-door committee that initially reviewed them, rejecting a Liberal bid to have the matter referred directly to the police. Cowan had argued that the committee on internal economy had lost credibility with Canadians and the police should take over. But Kinsella ruled Cowan's bid was out of order, and emphasized that the committee could always refer the matter to the police later. Cowan also asked Sen. Marjory LeBreton, the government leader in the Senate, to explain why the report on Duffy's claims was different from that of senators Mac Harb and Patrick Brazeau, referring to it as "whitewashed." LeBreton suggested it was because Duffy had already paid his improper expenses, and the reports might have been designed to persuade Brazeau and Harb to do the same. Harper said he has discussed the situation with LeBreton. "She has my full support to accelerate changes to the Senate's rules on expenses and close any loopholes in those existing rules," Harper said. "And I expect Conservative senators, regardless of what opposition you may face, to get that done." Harper reminded his caucus about a pointed warning he first issued in 2005: no one seeking elected office to line their own pockets is welcome in the Conservative fold. "Anyone who wants to use public office for their own benefit should make other plans, or better yet, leave this room," Harper said, jabbing his finger for effect. Anyone who takes money to which they are not entitled should pay a price, said Quebec Sen. Jacques Demers. "If these people have done what has been speculated that they have done, they should be fired, they should not just be going to Independent," he said. The former Montreal Canadians hockey coach stressed that he supports the prime minister, but is pondering his own future. Demers said he may have to leave if the scandal isn't cleared up to his satisfaction. "I really, really trust Mr. Harper," he said. "I'm in a reflection period. It means I'm going to see what's going to happen. I want to see if I'm going to stay in the Senate." Some observers have painted the crisis as the most serious test the Conservatives have faced since winning their majority in 2011, but Harper framed the issue more as a minor distraction. "We have an active and important agenda on the issues that matter to hardworking Canadian families and there is much work to be done," he said. "When distractions arise, as they inevitably will, we will deal with them firmly." Harper's speech was greeted with an ovation and his caucus broke out into chants at the end, drowning out reporters who tried to ask the prime minister questions. Harper needs to be a lot clearer with Canadians, the opposition said, using up a third of Tuesday's question period to grill the government. "They think we're fools," said Francoise Boivin of the NDP. "They're trying to make us believe that (Harper) knew nothing." Complained New Democrat Nathan Cullen: "These guys will not be accountable." Charlie Angus, the New Democrat who has been worrying at the issue since it began, called it "abuse of the public trust." The government "has lost its moral compass," boomed Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau. "The prime minister is in this up to his neck." Liberal colleague Ralph Goodale called it "an insidious scheme." Through it all, Baird maintained an uncharacteristic calm, glancing periodically at his notes and insisting Harper only knew of the payment to Duffy when it became public last week. The minister, who can be a vitriolic opponent, never raised his voice. "I can't be any more clear," he said repeatedly. Wed, 22 May 2013 00:50:32 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/national/280810/Bair-takes-heat,-Harper-says-little-about-scandal http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/national/280813/Canadian-killed-in-Iraqi-violence OTTAWA - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird says a Canadian is among those killed in a spate of recent sectarian violence in Iraq. A string of attacks in the middle eastern country has killed more than 270 people in just the past week. Baird says consular officials are in touch with the Canadian's family and are offering assistance. He says he's grown "increasingly concerned" about the violence that has rocked Iraqi cities and towns in recent days. Baird says while the security situation in Iraq has been fragile for years, the most recent violence is "particularly troubling" and risks plunging the country into a civil war. He says Canada will be monitoring the situation carefully and is urging Iraqi authorities to do all they can to increase security. Rising tensions between Sunnis and the Shiite-led government in Iraq have burst into a new round of bloodshed recently with scenes reminiscent of some of the worst carnage during the days when the two Islamic sects battled each other as well as U.S.-led forces in the chaotic years after Saddam Hussein's ouster. The violence has raised fears the country is sliding back to the brink of civil war amid rising Sunni anger over perceived mistreatment at the hands of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government and dangerous spillover from Syria's civil war next door, where the two factions are also pitted against each other. A series of blitz attacks on Monday, stretching from north of Baghdad to the southern city of Basra and targeting bus stops, open-air markets and rush-hour crowds, killed 113 people. Meanwhile, 20 were killed after a car bomb exploded as Sunni worshippers were leaving a mosque after evening prayers Tuesday in Baghdad. Several smaller attacks struck areas elsewhere in the country earlier Tuesday. — with files from the Associated Press. Wed, 22 May 2013 00:55:59 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/national/280813/Canadian-killed-in-Iraqi-violence http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/national/280812/Duffy-expense-investigation-heads-back-behind-closed-doors OTTAWA - Conservative senators have sent Mike Duffy's controversial improper expenses back to the same closed-door committee that initially reviewed them, rejecting a Liberal bid to have the matter referred directly to the police. Liberal Senate Leader James Cowan argued late Tuesday night that the committee on internal economy had lost credibility with Canadians and the police should take over. He said the initial report the on former Conservative senator's expenses had been "whitewashed" by his Tory colleagues, and then further thrown into doubt when it was discovered the $90,000 owed by Duffy was paid by the prime minister's former chief of staff Nigel Wright. "What confidence can we have that they will allowed to do their work without political interference from outside, from the leadership in the Senate, or the House of Commons or the prime minister's office," Cowan said on the Senate floor. "From what we have witnessed to date, we don't believe Canadians would have any confidence in this proposed approach." But Senate Speaker Noel Kinsella ruled Cowan's bid was out of order, and emphasized that the committee could always refer the matter to the police later. The Conservative majority in the Senate voted to have the matter sent back to the committee. The Liberals are also trying another tack — trying to trigger special parliamentary hearings in the hopes of forcing Wright and others to testify about the $90,000 payment to Duffy. Cowan argued that Stephen Harper's office violated the sacrosanct privileges of parliamentarians, and may well be in contempt of Parliament. Wright resigned Sunday, and Duffy quit the Conservative caucus last Thursday, after the details of their transaction began to emerge. After that payment from Wright, Duffy stopped co-operating with an audit into his expenses. The Senate report into Duffy does not include some of the same language used in nearly identical reports into the claims of senators Patrick Brazeau and Mac Harb. Liberals on the Senate committee handling the report voted against it in protest. "If monies were paid which would influence the decision of a Senate committee, then that is contempt of Parliament, and that infringes my privileges as a senator, and it infringes the privileges of senators and the Senate and interferes in a spectacular way...with the independence of the Senate," Cowan told reporters. Conservative Senate leader Marjory LeBreton had declared the matter closed two weeks ago when the reports on housing expenses were tabled. During Senate question period on Tuesday, LeBreton insisted that she and her colleagues were unaware of Wright's payment to Duffy until it was revealed on the news. "I was dealing with what I had at that point in time. That's all I could do," LeBreton said of her comments on May 9. Cowan pressed LeBreton to explain why the report on Duffy's claims was different from that of Harb and Brazeau. LeBreton suggested it was because Duffy had already paid his improper expenses, and the reports might have been designed to persuade Brazeau and Harb to do the same. Cowan is arguing that the executive branch interfered in the proceedings of the Senate committee tasked with studying Duffy's expense claims. Claude Carignan, the Conservative deputy leader in the Senate, rejected the notion the Senate's privileges had been violated. He said it was enough that the Senate ethics officer and the conflict of interest and ethics commissioner were reviewing the matter. "I think this is a serious issue, and it shouldn't be an issue of partisanship," said Carignan. "There is a parliamentary process created to treat issues of this type, and I think we should allow it to unfold." If Kinsella finds there appears to be a breach of parliamentary privilege, he could send the issue to a special committee for further study. Such a Senate committee would enjoy the privilege of summoning any witness it wants on the matter, including Wright or others from Harper's office. Kinsella said late Tuesday evening he was taking the matter under advisement. Harper's office insisted Tuesday there was no agreement between Wright and Duffy, and that as a result no documentation of such a deal exists. But no one has yet provided a full explanation of what transpired between the two men. Meanwhile, Harb raised a question of privilege in the Senate on Tuesday evening, suggesting his reputation was impugned when the Senate committee issued its report saying he owed $51,482. Harb noted that independent auditors declared rules around primary residences were not clear, and they did not determine he had broken them. "Tell me what percentage of the time you want me to live in my primary residence?" Harb responded angrily to questions put by Liberal Senator George Furey. "This is a democracy. If I'm not billing the Senate for my time off it's not anyone's business where I am." The report into Brazeau's expenses was passed by the Senate late Tuesday. Brazeau has been asked to pay $48,744. He is also fighting the bill. Wed, 22 May 2013 00:54:26 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/national/280812/Duffy-expense-investigation-heads-back-behind-closed-doors http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/national/280673/Eyes-on-Toronto-for-latest-response-from-Ford-camp TORONTO - Toronto Mayor Rob Ford ignored a crush of reporters waiting outside his city hall office this morning in the hopes he would address allegations that he was recorded on video appearing to smoke crack cocaine. The mayor was flooded with questions when the elevator he was riding in opened, but he stayed silent and remained on the elevator, continuing on to council chambers. It was unclear whether the mayor planned to discuss the allegations later in the day, as many allies and rivals have urged him to do. Ford's silence over the long weekend did not quiet the controversy after the Toronto Star and the U.S.-based website Gawker.com reported the controversial video story on Thursday. Both said staff had separately viewed the cellphone footage which they claimed appears to show Ford smoking crack. On Friday, Ford slammed the Toronto Star report on the video as a smear job and called it "ridiculous," while his lawyer Dennis Morris called the reports "false and defamatory." Morris told The Canadian Press on Sunday that he had not received any instructions from Ford about launching legal action against the Star and Gawker, saying the matter was in "pause" until it's known whether a video will become public. The media outlets reported the video was shown to them by an alleged drug dealer who has been reportedly trying to sell it for at least $100,000. Gawker has been trying to crowdsource $200,000 to buy and publicly post the footage and had raised $84,839 by early Tuesday.   Tue, 21 May 2013 10:38:03 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/national/280673/Eyes-on-Toronto-for-latest-response-from-Ford-camp