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--Fifteenth NewsWatch --(Canadian Press Broadcast Wire (Canada) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) (Afghan-MacKay) (Audio: 111) Defence Minister Peter MacKay has dialed down the rhetoric on former diplomat Richard Colvin. After painting Colvin as a Taliban dupe and saying his testimony to a special Commons committee wasn't credible, MacKay now says the attacks weren't ``personal.'' Colvin's bombshell allegations that detainees were handed over to be tortured by Afghan authorities set off more fireworks in the House of Commons today. Liberal M-P Ralph Goodale accused MacKay of trying to ``shoot the messenger'' and repeated Opposition calls for a judicial inquiry. Transport Minister John Baird called Colvin's allegations nothing short of hearsay. (15) (Flaherty-Economy) (Audio: 123) Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says he will stay the course with the 61 (b) billion dollars in stimulus spending announced last January. He says implementing that spending will be the focus of his budget for next year -- but he says Canadians shouldn't expect the taps to be open indefinitely. He says the economic action plan was created for a specific dramatic situation -- it was never intended to go on indefinitely. Flaherty reiterated his commitment not to raise taxes or cut transfers to provinces in order to pay off Ottawa's deficit. (15) (Bankruptcies-Economy) (Audio: 98) Consumers were lining up at the bankruptcy office in September. Government figures show personal bankruptcies were up 45.5 per cent in September. The rate of consumer bankruptcies was highest in the western provinces, although Ontario and Quebec weren't far behind. The increase in business bankruptcies slowed to 1.6 per cent in September after a more than 30 per cent jump the month before. (15) (Sponsorship-Gosselin) Public-relations executive Gilles-Andre Gosselin has pleaded guilty to several fraud charges in the federal sponsorship scandal. He was immediately sentenced by an Ottawa judge to two years, plus a day. The sponsorship inquiry revealed Gosselin billed the then-Liberal government for 3,673 hours of work in 1997 -- which works out to more than 10 hours a day, 365 days a year. The federal government filed a three (m) million dollar lawsuit against Gosselin for overpayments but he declared bankruptcy last year. (15) (Duncan-Flood) Hundreds of homes have been evacuated on Vancouver island because of flooding caused by heavy rain and high tides. Residents have been forced to leave 300 homes in Duncan and surrounding areas after local rivers broke their banks in low-lying areas. The municipality of North Cowichan says two schools have also been closed for the day and a number of roads closed. A local state of emergency has been declared for the area. (15 (Consumer-Electronics-Prices) A Toronto-based market research firm says right now is a great time to get high-quality electronics at a really good price. N-P-D Group Canada says one example is digital cameras -- where a 12-megapixel camera is nearly 60 per cent less than last year. It says prices for T-V's have come down about 15 per cent -- while Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo have also lowered prices to help boost the sales of their video game consoles. A spokesman says prices may be falling more in the U-S -- it all depends on the category. (NewsWatch by Rose Kingdon) (The Canadian Press) (c) 2009 The Canadian Press |