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Canadians Are Going Loonie on Social Media About THIS

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It is often said that a free-floating currency acts as a shock absorber.

But when Canadians go shopping for groceries these days, they’re getting nothing but the shock—sticker shock, that is.

On Tuesday, the Canadian dollar, commonly known as the loonie, broke below 70 U.S. cents for the first time since May 1, 2003.

For America’s northern neighbor, which imports about 80 percent of the fresh fruits and vegetables its citizens consume, this entails a sharp rise in prices for these goods. With lower-income households tending to spend a larger portion of income on food, this side effect of a soft currency brings them the most acute stress.

James Price, director of Capital Markets Products at Richardson GMP, recently joked during an interview on BloombergTV Canada that “we’re going to be paying a buck a banana pretty soon.” (Read more from “Canadians Are Going Loonie on Social Media About THIS” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Canadian Man Facing Jail Time for Not Giving up Cell Phone; Feds can do the Same Thing at U.S. Borders

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Canadian man Alain Philippon . . . flew into Halifax Stanfield International Airport last week, returning to his home country from the Dominican Republic, and border agents demanded that he enter the password to unlock his phone so they could search it, the CBC reported. . .

Philippon refused, saying the information on his phone was “personal.”

. . .In the U.S., the Fifth Amendment protects individuals from self-incrimination and as the Electronic Frontier Foundation notes, law enforcement generally needs a warrant to compel the unlocking of a phone or computer because providing the password is considered self-incriminating testimony by most courts.

However, as CNET noted, even though the Supreme Court has ruled that cops need a warrant to get a phone password, U.S. border agents don’t need a warrant or even individualized suspicion to conduct a “forensic” search of your phone or computer. . .

Philippon will go to court on May 12, facing charges of hindering border agents under Canada’s Customs Act, the CBC reported. (Read more from “Canadian Man Facing Jail Time for Not Giving up Cell Phone; Feds can do the Same Thing at US Borders” HERE)

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Exclusive: Canadian Stupidity Over Alaska’s Prince Rupert Ferry Terminal Stoking Tensions

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It was reported in The Canadian Press and The Prince George Citizen that Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada has ostensibly directed his administration to take a precedent setting position in regards to the Alaskan operated ferry terminal in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The Canadian administration’s opening salvo began with threatening to use a little known “Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act,” in order to force the State of Alaska to acquiesce to demands that they use Canadian steel and other products during the construction of a 15 million dollar small ferry terminal.

If done in the manner demanded by the Harper Administration, the procurement of Canadian products will be in violation of the “Buy American Act” provisions embedded in U.S. Federal contracting law. A provision that Alaska Governor Bill Walker has made abundantly clear will not be waived.


Ferry operations by the Alaska Marine Highway System presents challenges at the Port of Prince Rupert. A number of problems with this port, along with additional regulations, add an exorbitant amount of cost to operations. Back on July 23, 1997 a large contingent of fishermen formed a blockade that held hostage the M/V Malaspina for two to three days while the fishermen burned American flags and yelled obscenities at the crew on the Alaskan ferry in protests related to allocation of Pacific salmon harvests. The blockade placed the crew of the vessel and three hundred passengers in fear of additional retaliation due to the belligerent behavior of the fishermen who acted in surprise and impunity of the local authorities . This action was instantly an international incident, which found the United States Senate voting 81-19 in favor of sending in the U.S. Navy to enforce the internationally-recognized Right of Innocent Passage.”

Ultimately cooler heads prevailed and former President Bill Clinton negotiated the “Pacific Salmon Treaty,” which initially was welcomed by both sides of the border, yet was ultimately abandoned in following years. During those hostilities, the blockade lasted until the fishing fleet, based in Prince Rupert, received assurances from their government to renew talks between the United States in regards to fisheries management .

At the time, then Alaskan Governor Tony Knowles engaged in meetings attended by a Canadian delegation including the Canadian Fisheries Minister, and the Washington State Governor as they arrived at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to negotiate the fishing legislation addressing their respective jurisdictions and nations. There was a brief period of time where the State of Alaska suspended all operations in the Port of Prince Rupert, which lasted from the end of July to December 1997.

Ultimately, the parties agreed to the passage of the “Safe Passage” principle that focused on salmon fishing along the Alaskan coast and elsewhere. Eventually, apology letters with assurances from the Mayor of Prince Rupert and Canadian Fisheries Minister that the Canadians will prevent future blockades and give funding to rebuild the image of the Alaskan Ferry System in Canada. The Alaskan Ferry System relented on the suspension of ferry traffic to Prince Rupert, and operations resumed to the present day. (Read page 2 of this story about the Prince Rupert Ferry terminal issue HERE)

[Page 2] Canadian Stupidity Over Alaska’s Prince Rupert Ferry Terminal Stoking Tensions

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Since 1963, the Alaska Marine Highway System has operated out of Prince Rupert, BC. As the sole user of that particular facility, a fifty-year lease that ended in 2013, and was subsequently renewed. The initial lease provisions required that the Prince Rupert Port Authority was to maintain the terminal facility. In Alaskan Legislative Committee notes dating back to January, 2009 the Alaska Marine Highway System responded to questions regarding the total purchase of the facility noting that the Alaska ferry authority believed the Port Authority of Prince Rupert was not fulfilling the obligations of their contract. The Alaska House Transportation Sub-Committee notes indicate:

The lease requires Prince Rupert to provide dock maintenance, he [Mr. Beedle – the Alaska Marine Highway System Director] advised. However, due to financial constraints the maintenance has not been performed although the Prince Rupert authorities maintain the dock is safe. He acknowledged that Prince Rupert eventually spent $1 million dollars to repair the dock, but ‘this is kind of a band-aid for a three to five year timeline.’ He opined that Prince Rupert does not want to be in the dock business or to finance rebuilding the dock.

In May of 2014, the engineering firm CH2MHILL performed an environmental assessment of the Port Facility in Prince Rupert for the State of Alaska and concluded:

…structural upgrades were completed in 2005… The Terminal is now approaching 50 years of service with significant wear on all parts of the marine facilities. Although the Terminal has had a series of repairs and modifications, it is in poor condition and has reached the end of useful life. Wholesale terminal replacement with modern steel and concrete structures and a new lift system similar to other AMHS ferry terminals is now warranted

The findings by CH2MHill with regard to the Prince Rupert, BC terminal facility seem to support the contention that the Port Authority and City of Prince Rupert were likely in complete abrogation of their contractual obligations long before the State of Alaska took it upon itself to formulate plans to demolish and replace the facility.

The circumstances surrounding the Prince Rupert ferry terminal replacement appears to be the result of the Canadian Government’s decision to ignore their original commitments, and remains as a hallmark of their initial obligations. The conclusion now seems obvious that the need to repair and replace the dock is the direct result of decades of neglect that the local government in their malfeasance failed to perform.

As a result of unjust treatment on the part of select segments of the Canadian populous and some Canadian politicians, Alaskans may be entering a new era of renewed hostilities that are precipitated by a distant Ottawa government. It appears that certain Canadian politicians would rather score some cheap political points thousands of miles away and make illogical statements about Canadian steel and concrete rather than addressing the needs of the local communities they are required to serve. The interference of the Canadian government in a rather trivial ferry terminal facility that they have no vested financial commitment towards is astonishing and not based on tangible harm to the local economy.

The State of Alaska and the United States federal government have been cooperative in all their actions regarding the Prince Rupert ferry terminal leading up to this latest breach of trust by Canadian authorities. In particular, the emphatic statement by Canada’s International Trade Minister, Ed Fast, that a 15 million dollar ferry terminal replacement on about an acre of property will be, “An affront to Canadian Sovereignty.”

As a matter of fact, a 15 million dollar project, solely financed and built for the benefit of Canadian infrastructure with United States tax dollars is a very good deal for our Canadian neighbors and will do much to enhance the economy of the Prince Rupert area. The deal is all the more advantageous and obviously beneficial considering that the Prince Rupert Port Authority all but abandoned that facility a decade ago. (Read page 3 of this story about the Prince Rupert Ferry terminal issue HERE)

Leaked DHS Report Reveals 13 Foreign Suspected Terrorists Illegally Entered Canada from US

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Photo Credit: Breitbart By Brandon Darby.

At least 13 men from Africa with terrorist-related records illegally entered Canada from the U.S. since 2010, according to a leaked Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Intelligence Information Report exclusively obtained by Breitbart Texas. The data pertains only to one small region of the vast U.S.-Canadian border. The report reveals that as of September 9, 2014, there have been 155 encounters in the area “involving 344 ethnic Somalis, 21 ethnic Ethiopians, five ethnic Kenyans, two ethnic Djiboutians, two ethnic Nigerians, and one ethnic Sudanese and Congolese subjects who have attempted or succeeded in entering Canada illegally near the Pembina, ND Port of Entry (POE) since June 2010. These encounters INCLUDE 13 SUBJECTS WITH TERRORIST-RELATED RECORDS [Emphasis Added] who have utilized this method of circumventing designated POEs.”

The report lists several ethnic Somalis who have U.S. addresses and official Alien Registration Numbers issued by the U.S. government, who the report indicates are either included, or should be included, into the Terrorist Screening Database. The subjects’ addresses span from Southern California to Ohio.

Intel Report

Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: Breitbart Canada Gunman Prepared Video of Himself, Authorities Decline to Release Recording

By Breitbart News.

A gunman who shot and killed a soldier at Canada’s national war memorial and then stormed Parliament before he was gunned down had prepared a video recording of himself that police say shows he was driven by ideological and political motives, police said Sunday.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Bob Paulson said in a statement they have “persuasive evidence that Michael Zehaf-Bibeau’s attack was driven by ideological and political motives.”

A detailed analysis of the video was being conducted and Paulson said they cannot release the video at this time.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has called Wednesday’s shooting a terror attack, and the bloodshed raised fears that Canada is suffering reprisals for joining the U.S.-led air campaign against Islamic State extremists in Iraq and Syria.

Read more from this story HERE.

Canadian PM Calls 'Brutal and Violent' Parliament Attack Terrorism, While Our President Can't Bring Himself to Utter the Word

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Photo Credit: alexindigoBy FoxNews.com.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper described the perpetrator of a “brutal and violent” attack on the Parliament complex in Ottawa that left a soldier dead Wednesday as a “terrorist” in an address to the nation.

“We will not be intimidated. Canada will never be intimidated,” Harper said before vowing that the attack would “lead us to strengthen our resolve and redouble our efforts” to keep the country safe and work with Canada’s allies to fight terrorists.

The assault rocked Parliament over and over with the boom of gunfire, led MPs to barricade doors with chairs and sent people streaming from the building in fear. Harper was addressing a caucus when the attack began outside the door, but he safely escaped. He gave his address Wednesday evening from an undisclosed location.

Earlier Wednesday, Canadian authorities identified the shooter as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, 32. A government official told Fox News that they have been advised that Zehaf-Bibeau, a Quebec native, was thought to be a recent convert to Islam who had changed his name from Michael Joseph Hall. Investigators offered little additional information about the gunman. However, Harper said in his address that “in the days to come we will learn about the terrorist and any accomplices he may have had.”

Court records that appear to be the gunman’s show that he had a long rap sheet, with a string of convictions for assault, robbery, drug and weapons offenses, and other crimes.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Gingrich Slams Obama’s ‘Delusional’ Response To Ottawa Shootings

By ALEX GRISWOLD.

Former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich took President Barack Obama to task for his “delusional” response to the Ottawa shooting that saw the death of at least one Canadian soldier.

Read more from this story HERE.

Police Say Driver Who Hit Two Canadian Soldiers Before Being Shot Was 'Radicalized'

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Photo Credit: REUTERS / Christinne MuschiA Quebec man who struck two Canadian military members with his car before being fatally shot by police Monday had been “radicalized,” authorities said.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said that Martin Rouleau, 25, of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, was known to provincial and federal law enforcement agencies, according to CBC News. Police declined to provide further details, citing the ongoing investigation.

A statement from the office of Prime Minister Stephen Harper late Monday said that authorities “have confirmed that there are indications that this is clearly an individual who has been radicalized … Canadians should remain vigilant.” Harper was briefed about the incident by the head of Canada’s national police force, the head of the military and his national security adviser.

One neighbor told reporters that Rouleau stopped wearing jeans and started wearing a tunic and that he changed over the last year and was alone a lot. Another neighbor said Rouleau converted to Islam a little over a year ago.

Rouleau was shot after striking two members of the military in a parking lot mall near Montreal. He died a few hours later.

Read more from this story HERE.

Canada Gives Russia A Geography Lesson

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After Putin claimed the nine Russian soldiers captured in Ukraine Wednesday crossed the border accidentally, Canada kindly issued a geography lesson via Twitter to help the Russians sort it out…

Read more from this story HERE.

Canadian Man in Hospital with Ebola-Like Virus

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Photo Credit: AFPThe man had recently returned from Liberia in the west African region, currently suffering a deadly outbreak of an unidentified haemorrhagic fever.

He is in isolation in critical condition in Saskatoon, the largest city in Saskatchewan province.

A provincial medical official said there was no risk to the public.

Dr Denise Werker, the province’s deputy chief medical officer, declined to say how long the man had been in Africa but said he only fell ill after returning to Canada.

She said that was in line with the profile of common deadly haemorrhagic fever viruses Lassa fever and Ebola, which have an incubation period of up to 21 days.

Read more from this story HERE.

Forgetting Gun Was in Glove Box Could Land Veteran in Canadian Prison for 3 Years

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Photo Credit: Reuters Retired Army Sergeant Major Louis DiNatale was on his way to Vermont for vacation in his wife’s car when he took a wrong turn, ended up on a bridge to Canada, and was charged for possession of a firearm after Canadian customs agents found a small-caliber pistol in his wife’s console.

Although DiNatale made it clear he was on the bridge inadvertently and simply wanted to u-turn and return to the United States, he was handcuffed and could face three years in prison.

According to the LA Times, DiNatale had forgotten the gun was in his wife’s console shortly after putting it there so it wouldn’t be in his truck when he drove onto base at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. He put the pistol in his wife’s car for safe-keeping then forgot all about it.

When a Canadian custom agent asked DiNatale if he owned guns, the retired Sergeant Major said, “yes.”

Read more from this story HERE.