Welcome to the Good Times! Canada's Unemployment Rate Lowest in Two Years

Canada's unemployment rate dropped to 6.6 per cent last month, its lowest level in more than two years, as fewer people were looking for work, Statistics Canada said Friday.

Several economists were quick to hail the numbers as a sign that Canada's economy is on the mend, though at least one questioned the survey's findings of a massive swing toward full-time employment at the expense of part-time jobs.

The decline of 0.2 percentage points from the previous month brought the rate down to a number not seen since January 2015.

The agency's February employment survey indicated the national labour market added 15,300 jobs overall last month, higher than analyst expectations.

Economists had projected a gain of 2,500 jobs and the unemployment rate to stay at 6.8 per cent, according to Thomson Reuters.

Samsung Group Chief Indicted on Bribery Charges

In what poses to be a big blow to the world’s biggest smartphone maker, South Korean prosecutors have said Samsung Group chief, Jay Y. Lee and four other executives will be charged with bribery and embezzlement.

Lee was arrested on Friday, February 17, 2017,  over his alleged role in the corruption scandal involving impeached President Park Geun-hye of South Korea.

In a statement released by Lee Kyu-chul, a spokesman for the special prosecutor, he said:

Man Who Robbed Nine Banks in Alberta and Saskatchewan Sentenced

A 29-year-old man who admitted to using a fake gun during eight of his nine robberies at banks across Western Canada has been sent to prison for four years.

Shaun Cornish was sentenced Tuesday in British Columbia Supreme Court in Kamloops but a seven-year term was reduced by 36 months to account for time spent behind bars since his arrest in January 2015.

The court was told Cornish robbed his first bank in Princeton in December 2014 and the heists continued in the Alberta communities of High River, Lethbridge and Claresholm, as well as in Swift Current, Sask.

Canadian Imprisoned in North Korea Gets Audience With Ambassador

A Canadian pastor serving a life sentence in North Korea has been allowed to meet with the Swedish ambassador in Pyongyang and telephone his family.

Hyeon Soo Lim, a pastor with the Light Korean Presbyterian Church of Mississauga, Ont., was sentenced in December 2015 by a North Korean court to life in prison with hard labour for what it called crimes against the state.

Swedish Ambassador Torkel Stiernlof says he met Lim for 40 minutes last week. He said they discussed Lim's health and other matters, but refused to comment further.

The ambassador said in an email to The Associated Press on Wednesday that he and Lim "weren't rushed."

He said there were two North Korean officials in civilian clothes and an official photographer present throughout the meeting, which was held in a conference room at a Pyongyang hotel.

Barack & Michelle Obama’s Forthcoming Memoirs land Record-Breaking $65m Publishing Deal

Penguin Random House has landed a deal to publish two forthcoming memoirs by former U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, with one volume to be written by each, the publishing company said on Tuesday.

Terms of the agreement, in which Penguin Random House acquired worldwide publication rights for the two books, were not disclosed, but Financial Times said the Obamas may have set a record deal in excess of $65million.

But in keeping with their past practice, the Obamas plan to donate a “significant portion of their author proceeds to charity,” including the Obama Foundation, the publisher said in a statement.

The deal followed a heated auction for global rights to the two books with bidding that reached more than $60 million, a record sum for U.S. presidential memoirs, the Financial Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the sales process.

Drake Grammy 2017 Wins and Buzz

Toronto born Hip Hop A-list, Drake won two gongs last night for this record "Hotline Bling" - Best Rap/Sung Performance and Best Rap Song. He missed out on the "Best Rap Album" to Chance the Rapper.

Drake was not in attendance at the Grammy Awards on Sunday (Feb. 12) night to witness Chance the Rapper's best new artist win firsthand, but the hip-hop superstar was still celebrating. Following his award, Chance shared a text message conversation with Drake congratulating his victory and saying he was toasting Chance from tour in Manchester, England. "CONGRATS BOI," Drake's texts read. "WELL DESERVED. I AM IN MANCHESTER HAVING A DRINK FOR YOU BROSKI."

Another highlight for Drake is the dishes from his recent flame. Speaking at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday night, Jennifer Lopez, the 47-year-old gushed to E! News about the star. She told Ryan Seacrest: “Of course. I love Drake. “He’s so brilliant, talented, amazing. Coolectively, Drake has had 35 nominations since 2010 but won three including two last night. Well done Son!

See full list of winners

Quebec Mosque Attack Update: 6 Dead, Suspect Arrested

At least six people have been reportedly killed and eight injured in a shooting that took place inside a mosque at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Center in Quebec City, Canada, on Jan. 29, 2017. (Pictured) A police officer stands guard at the center. 

Police were investigating a single suspect in a shooting at a Quebec City mosque that killed six people, with a second person who was arrested now considered a witness, authorities said on Monday.

The sole suspect in the attack on Sunday evening prayers was Alexandre Bissonnette, a French-Canadian university student, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The man now considered a witness was of Moroccan descent although his nationality was not immediately known, the source said. He was named by media as Mohamed Khadir or Mohammed Belkhadir by media.

Police declined to give details of those arrested or possible motives for the shooting at the mosque, the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec.

A-List Ryan Gosling and Denis Villeneuve Lead List of Canada’s Oscar Nominees

Canadian Oscar nominees Denis Villeneuve and Ryan Gosling pulled away from their jam-packed schedules Tuesday morning to marvel over their Academy Award kudos.

They chatted by phone soon after Villeneuve learned he’d snagged his first directing nomination for the aliens-have-landed thriller Arrival, and Gosling picked up a best acting nod, one of a leading 14 nominations for La La Land.

“We are both proud of each other and happy for each other. It’s quite a nice ride for both of us and I’m very, very happy for what he did,” Villeneuve said from Los Angeles.

“Ryan is a kind of comical genius. He has that sense. He’s a very, very strong actor and I’m very proud of what he did in La La Land.”

Arrival is also up for best picture and six other awards, with several Canadian nominees in categories including production design and sound.

Some Goodnews As Canada Had Best Job Creation in 4 years

Canada's job market had a promising end to a year marked by big employment gains — but, unlike recent history, growth in 2016 was driven by a less-encouraging factor: an upsurge in part-time work. Canada added more than 53,000 jobs in December, bringing the total for 2016 to 214,000.

The total for last month was 54,000, according to Statistics Canada. The economy actually added 81,000 full-time jobs during the month, but that was slightly offset by a loss of 27,000 part-time positions.

The results were a positive surprise to economists, who had been expecting a slight loss of jobs during the month.

UFC News: Ronda Rousey Put To Sleep in First 48 Seconds

Ronda Rousey was stopped 48 seconds into her comeback fight Friday night, losing to bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 on Friday night.

Rousey staggered and stumbled backward while Nunes relentlessly pursued her and landed multiple shots. Referee Herb Dean stopped the bout with Rousey still on her feet, and Rousey briefly protested the stoppage before leaving the cage in her mother's arms.

Cody Garbrandt also won the men's bantamweight title in the penultimate bout, battering champion Dominick Cruz to earn a surprising decision victory at T-Mobile Arena in the UFC's traditional end-of-the-year show in its hometown.

Canada Immigration Adopts Lottery System for Reuniting Immigrants with Parents and Guidance

Canada is adopting a lottery system to replace the current first-come, first-served immigration process to reunite parents and grandparents.

The change, which will take effect in the new year, is designed to make the system fair for all applicants, according to a release from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. In past, the number of applications has far exceeded the number of available spots, creating a backlog in applications.

"We're listening to what past applicants had to say and making the process fairer for people who want to sponsor their parents or grandparents," Immigration Minister John McCallum said in a statement.

"We're ensuring everyone can access the application process by giving them the same chance to have their name chosen."

Between Jan. 3 and Feb. 2, 2017, Canadian citizens and permanent residents who want to sponsor their parents or grandparents will be required to complete an online form on the IRCC website within 30 days.

President Elect Donald Trump Will Get Us Killed - Says Michael Moore

Michael Moore published a scathing essay to his Facebook page on Tuesday night, slamming President-elect Donald Trump for not regularly attending national security briefings.

Titled "Donald Trump Is Gonna Get Us Killed," the piece builds upon what Moore told Seth Meyers in an interview earlier this month.

"A week has gone by since Donald Trump admitted he's only been to 'two or three' of his daily presidential national security briefings. There have been 36 of them since the day he secured enough electoral college votes to be appointed president next Monday when the Electoral College meets," Moore began. "Most would agree the No. 1 job of the leader of any country is to keep its people safe. There is no more important meeting every day for the President than the one where he learns what the day's potential threats are to the country. That Trump would find it too cumbersome or too annoying to have to sit through 20 minutes of listening to his top intelligence people tell him who's trying to kill us today, simply boggles the mind."

Citing what Moore called Trump's "childish tweets" about Saturday Night Live, the Oscar-winning filmmaker expressed doubt Trump "doesn't have time" to hear about threats to the nation.

"So, my fellow Americans, when the next terrorist attack happens -- and it will happen, we all know that -- and after the tragedy is over, amidst the death and destruction that might have been prevented, you will see Donald Trump acting quickly to blame everyone but himself.

RIP Alan Thicke, Veteran Canadian Singer, Songwriter and Actor

Alan Thicke, a Canadian singer, songwriter and actor best remembered for his portrayal of a father who was the ultimate suburban middlebrow dispenser of advice to his children on the television sitcom “Growing Pains,” died on Tuesday. He was 69.

His death was confirmed by the talent agent Nigel Mikoski, who represented Mr. Thicke. He died of a heart attack, Carleen Donovan, a publicist for one of his sons, the singer and songwriter Robin Thicke, said in an email.

Mr. Thicke had a genial warmth that he projected across all of his television work, most memorably on “Growing Pains,” which ran from 1985 to 1992. He played a psychiatrist, Dr. Jason Seaver, a classic 1980s formulation of the reassuring father, and solved everyone’s problems with a warm homily by the end of each 30-minute episode.

CIC Canada's Immigration Website Crashes as Trump's Led Wins

Canada’s main immigration website appeared to suffer repeated outages on Tuesday night as Trump took the lead in several major states and his prospects for winning the US presidency turned markedly higher. Data from Google suggests searches for ‘move to Canada’ spiked significantly during the night as Trump victories unfolded in key battleground states

Some users in the United States, Canada and Asia saw an internal server error message when trying to access the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website.

When the Guardian clicked on the page it would not load and a “this page isn’t working” error message came up.

Canadian Singer Michael Bublé 3yr Old Diagnosed with Cancer

Canadian singer, songwriter, actor and record producer Michael Bublé and his wife are confirming their toddler, Noah, is getting treatment for cancer.

Michael and Luisana said they were devastated by his recent diagnosis and would be "suspending professional activities for now" to focus their time and attention on the 3-year-old.

According to reports in Argentina, where the family lives, doctors initially thought Noah had mumps ... but when they brought him to see doctors in the U.S. ... they found the cancer.

In their Facebook post Friday morning, Michael and Luisana wrote ... "We have a long road ahead of us and we hope that with the support of our family, friends, fans around the world and faith in God, we can win this battle."

The couple had their second son, Elias, in January.

Canadian Economy in October 2016 Adds 44,000 Job but....

The economy gained 44,000 jobs last month -- fueled entirely by part-time employment, which offset a loss in full-time positions -- Statistics Canada said Friday, raising concerns that Canadians are having trouble securing gainful work.

The result is further evidence that Canada is struggling to create "quality, high-paying jobs," said David Madani, senior Canada economist at Capital Economics.

"Even though headline employment is rising, overall income growth still appears to be slowing sharply," Madani wrote in a note to clients.

The overall increase in employment was driven by 67,000 additional part-time positions for the month, while the number of full-time jobs fell by 23,000. The unemployment rate held steady at 7.0 per cent as more people entered the labour market, looking for work.

Belgium Reached Deal to Back the Free Trade Pact Between the European Union and Canada

 A landmark free trade agreement between the European Union and Canada could be signed within days after the Belgian government overcame an impasse with its regional authorities on Thursday.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said his national government had reached a deal with the holdout region of Wallonia. The region held a veto over the country’s ability to back the trans-Atlantic trade agreement. And the EU, in turn, needed unanimity among all its members.

The deal will go through regional legislatures by Friday night.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been due to travel to Brussels on Thursday to sign the deal, but those plans were effectively scrapped as the negotiations with Wallonia dragged on.

Apple iPhone 4th-Quarter Sales Beat Estimates But Company's Revenue Falls

Apple says it sold 45.51 million iPhones in the three months ended Sept. 24, beating the average analysts' estimate of 44.8 million, according to research firm FactSet StreetAccount. (Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images)

Apple Inc. posted a third quarter in a row of declining iPhone sales on Tuesday, but beat Wall Street targets for its flagship product and forecast higher-than-expected revenue for the critical holiday shopping season.

Apple executives said demand for the new iPhone 7, the company's best hope to revive flagging sales, was strong, despite fiscal fourth-quarter revenue dips in China and the Americas, its two most important markets.

"We couldn't be more excited about the customer response to the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus," Apple CEO Tim Cook said, according to CNBC.

Busted! Canadian Nursing Home Worker Charged with Eight Murders

A 49-year-old nursing home worker in Ontario has been charged with eight counts of first-degree murder spanning several years.

Elizabeth Tracey Mae Wettlaufer of Woodstock, Ontario, appeared in court on Tuesday morning.
The victims were residents in two long-term care facilities where Ms Wettlaufer worked and were between 75 and 96 years old.

Police said seven of the victims were given a fatal dose of a drug.

The victims were five women and three men and were all residents of Caressant Care in Woodstock and Meadow Park in London, Ontario.

Russian President Putin Orders International Students To Return Home

Vladmir Putin, Russia's president and 2016 most powerful man in the world according to Forbes has ordered the children and relatives of all it's officials to return home amidst rising tensions between Russia and the West and the possibility of an all out World War sooner rather than later according to Kremlin sources and Daily Star UK.

 Putin's call for Russians to come home comes after Russia recently held defence drills for 40 million citizens, Puttin also cancelled a state visit to France after France President Hollande accused him of committing war crimes in Syria, and now he thinks that America might rally it's 'friends' against his country so he wants to be more than ready for that.

This order also comes after Russia shipped nuclear-capable ballistic missiles (Iskander-M missle system) into it's central European border between Poland and Lithuania.

Canada Tightens Real Estate Tax Loophole For Foreign Investors

Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau has announced new measures designed to help stabilize Canada's housing market, particularly in overheated areas such as Vancouver and Toronto.

Among them will be the closure of a loophole some foreign residents are using to avoid paying capital gains tax on investment homes.

Going forward, only people who used their home as a principal residence will be eligible for the government's exemption, Morneau said.

"We want that exemption to be appropriately interpreted," he told reporters.

"We need to have the beneficial owner of the home being here in Canada, we have to have that owner living in the home as their principal residence."

Royal Visit: Prince William and Kate Paddle to Haida Gwaii by War Canoe

Prince William Duke of Cambridge helps row a traditional war canoe in Haida Gwaii, B.C., on Sept. 30, 2016. Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Prince William and Kate arrived at a small village off the coast of B.C. on Friday in a replica 15-metre Haida war canoe, taken to the remote island by paddlers wearing T-shirts opposing liquefied natural gas development.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were welcomed to the Haida heritage hall by more than a dozen chiefs and elders.

Young dancers in brightly coloured and beaded costumes performed a dance to honour the survivors of Canada’s residential schools and their personal journeys.

Game of Thrones Took The Emmy Crown

“Game of Thrones” conquered the Emmy kingdom Sunday, honoured as top drama for the second consecutive year and becoming the most honoured prime-time TV series ever on a night of surprises and sharp political jabs.

“Veep” repeated as best comedy series and its star, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, won a record-breaking sixth Emmy as best comedy actress. Jeffrey Tambor’s trophy as top comedy actor for “Transparent” also was his second.

“Games of Thrones,” the fantasy saga based on George R.R. Martin's novels, received a total of 12 awards Sunday and at last weekend's technical arts ceremony for a cumulative 38, besting “Frasier” by one to claim most prime-time series awards ever.

Full list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Awards:

Drama Series: “Game of Thrones.”

Directing, Drama Series: Miguel Sapochnik, “Game of Thrones”

$3M Jewelry Taken From Drake Tour Bus Found; Suspect Busted

"Hotline Bling" rapper Drake saw the safe return of millions of dollars' worth of actual bling stolen from his tour bus.

Phoenix police recovered a reported $3 million worth of jewelry that was taken from a tour bus being used by the musician and DJ Future the Prince while they were performing Tuesday.

Travion King, 21, was booked into Maricopa County Jail on a burglary charge.

Police say they identified King as the suspect through surveillance footage at Talking Stick Resort Arena in downtown Phoenix.

They then learned that he was already in jail after being arrested for trespassing Wednesday morning by campus police at Arizona State University in nearby Tempe.

Plus Size Model Ashley Graham Covers Elle Canada But There Is This...

Ashley Graham, 28 shot to fame after becoming the first plus size model to cover Sports Illustrated and now she has bagged yet another magazine cover. She is pictured on the cover of the October issue of ELLE Canada and she seems to have lost a lot of weight. In the issue, she opened up about her weight, learning disability, why she chose to hold off on sex with her husband until after marriage and her determination to help women gain control of their body image.

Busted! Two Canadian Women Arrested With Cocaine Worth $29m in Australia While On Worldwide Cruise

Two Canadian women 23-year-old Melina Roberge and 28-year-old Isabelle Lagacé, who were on a dream world wide cruise were on Monday arrested by the police in Australia, according to a release by the Australian authorities.

Authorities say approximately 95 kilograms of cocaine were allegedly found in the suitcases of the two friends and another Canadian man, 63-year-old man, Andre Tamine who was travelling with them when they arrived in Sydney on a cruise ship. All three were arrested in Australia.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the value of the drugs was $30 million Australian dollars, which is about $22 million in U.S. dollars or $29 million Canadian dollars.

Meet First Canadian Woman to Win a NASCAR Race

Amber Balcaen, 24, the 1st Canadian-born woman to win a NASCAR-sanctioned race in the United States.(shorttrack247)

Whether it's the tracks in Manitoba or a NASCAR race, Amber Balcaen has a need for speed.

The 24-year-old dirt racer from Winnipeg made history this weekend becoming the first Canadian-born woman to win a NASCAR-sanctioned race in the United States.

"It has sunk in and it hasn't. I've been smiling for the last two days and I'll be smiling all week," Balcaen said on Sunday.

"This is something I dreamed of, and I believed that I could achieve it and make it happen. For it to actually become a reality and for me to pull off the win was really a dream come true."

Balcaen took the title on Saturday in the seven-car Limited Sportsman Field during the NASACR Whelen All-American Series. This means Balcaen is in the first level of NASCAR, and she said her plans are to make it to the top of the five tiers.

Canadian Police Force RCMP Shoot Dead Terror Suspect During an Anti-terror Operation

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) today shot dead a suspect in an anti-terror operation in the Canadian province of Ontario, according to several media reports.

Canadian media reports say police had raided a property in Strathroy, about 225km (140 miles) south-west of Toronto and the 'terrorist suspect' named  as Aaron Driver, 24,  was arrested last year for openly supporting ISIS on social media.

RCMP said in a statement  it had received "credible information of a potential terrorist threat".
"A suspect was identified and the proper course of action has been taken to ensure that there is no danger to the public's safety," it added.

Dallas Cowboys Now Most Valuable Sport Team, Check Out Top 50

NFL team Dallas Cowboys are now the most valuable sports team in the World according to Forbes annual list of most Valuable sports franchises released this week. This is the first time since Forbes began compiling their annual top 50 lists of the most valuable sports teams in the world, that a non-football team will be topping it's list. Manchester United held the crown of most valuable in 2011 and 2012, and Real Madrid did so the last three years, but on this occasion American football outfit Dallas Cowboys rank first with a value of $4billion (£3.31bn), up 25%.

Real Madrid's fall from top of the list comes despite a value of $3.65bn (£2.76bn) and a 12% increase in value from last year, when they featured at the summit of the list. Real Madrid stocked with a pantheon of stars led by the world's highest-paid athlete Cristiano Ronaldo, tops a group of eight football clubs on the list. NFL franchises make up 27 of the 50 most valuable sports teams in the world in 2016's rankings, with Real Madrid down to second, Barcelona in third (having been fourth in 2015), and Man United staying in fifth.

University of Waterloo boosts salaries of female faculty by $3K after 'systemic' discrepancy found

An Ontario university is the latest to bump the salaries of its female faculty members after discovering they were being paid thousands of dollars less than their male coworkers, but one professor says steps must be taken to prevent — not just rectify — such biases in academia.
In a memo emailed to faculty Wednesday and obtained by The Canadian Press, the University of Waterloo said a working group tasked with analyzing faculty salaries uncovered a "systemic gender anomaly" that was "consistent across the university."

As a result, it said an adjustment of $2,905 will be made on Sept. 1 to the salaries of all female faculty members who were in the faculty association's bargaining unit as of April 30 of last year.
However, the working group said in its report that the increases will not be applied retroactively.
Aimee Morrison, an associate professor at the university and associate chair of graduate studies, says this type of inequity is a problem across academia "and probably all fields."

While it's great that the university is willing to address the problem, "I don't see a bigger conversation happening in really pointed ways about how does this keep happening," she said.