Canada Briefs
WINNIPEG (AP) - Canada is spending almost $12 million stockpiling antibiotics, training health workers and otherwise prepping to battle bio-terrorism.
But it's doing it out of prudence, not fear, Health Minister Allan Rock said Thursday.
``We do not regard Canada as a country that is at risk,'' Rock said at the Canadian Center for Human and Animal Health, the only laboratory in the country certified to deal with the deadliest of biological threats.
``We regard it as a remote risk but at the same time governments have a responsibility to prepare.''
Those preparations have already begun and include spending more than $5.6 million to increase the stockpile of antibiotics and other medicines.
These include doxycycline and cyprofloxin, which can be used to treat anthrax and plague, as well as antidotes for chemicals and gases such as the nerve gas Saran
The government wants enough on hand to treat 100,000 people.
Man Wanted in United States Over Terrorist Links Released on Bail
VANCOUVER (AP) - A Canadian citizen wanted in the United States where he is accused of having links to the Lebanon-based terrorist group Hezbollah was ordered released on bail Thursday by a British Columbia Supreme Court judge.
Ali Adham Amhaz, 35, had been in custody since his arrest at his suburban Burnaby, British Columbia, home on the weekend. He will be released under strict bail conditions.
Justice Marvyn Koenigsberg, in a lengthy oral decision, said she gave her decision ``truly anxious consideration.''
But she noted that in making the allegations, the United States had not provided sufficient evidence.
Under Canada's extradition laws, the United States has 60 days to present its evidence to Canada.
Koenigsberg emphasized she was not making any assessment of the weight of the U.S. evidence, just that she had not been presented with it yet.
``In the face of no real evidence...it's my view the detention could undermine the administration of justice,'' she said.
Amhaz was arrested by the RCMP's National Security Intelligence Services on a warrant issued under the Extradition Act.
The United States wants him to face trial in North Carolina, along with several others named in a 56-count indictment, on a charge of ``conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.''
Inflation Rate Moves Downwards, Reflecting Slower Growth in Economy
OTTAWA (AP) - Consumers may be cheering the slowdown in Canada's inflation rate reported Thursday, but they should beware - it also demonstrates how weak the economy has become.
The annual consumer price index rose by 2.6 per cent in September, a smaller increase than recorded in August.
Analysts predict the rate will continue to move downward as growth remains almost nonexistent.
But that weakness shouldn't last long as tax cuts and lower interest rates now working through both the Canadian and U.S. economies will help stimulate a recovery next year, a new Royal Bank study says.
While North America is bordering on recession, the slowdown won't last long, chief economist Craig Wright predicted Thursday.
``Even if a technical recession does ensue it should be short-lived and shallow,'' said Wright.
His study predicts inflation will fall from an average of 2.8 per cent this year to as low as 2.1 per cent in 2002.
At the same time, economic growth that will average about 1.6 per cent this year - all recorded in the first half - should climb to about two per cent on average in 2002.
Halloween Pumpkins Smaller in Parts of Canada Due to Summer Drought
TORONTO (AP) - Jack-o'-lanterns may be less impressive than usual on some Canadian doorsteps this Halloween.
The reason: big pumpkins are hard to find in parts of the country.
Summer drought conditions in Ontario and the Maritimes have left pumpkins smaller, and in some farmers' fields resulted in no pumpkins at all.
``A lot of the pumpkin vines just didn't develop because they didn't get the moisture,'' says Albert Streef, sales manager for Streef Produce Ltd. which grows vegetables near Woodstock, Ontario
To grow a big pumpkin you need a lot of water, but Ontario and other regions had little or no rain for eight or nine weeks this summer.
In the case of vines that did grow, ``the size of the pumpkins is quite small,'' Streef says.
``I think in some cases the kids will just have to accept the fact you're going to work with a smaller pumpkin this year.''
Pumpkins are priced by the size, ranging from about $3 to $10, Streef says. He says the bigger ones - if shoppers can find them - will be a few dollars more than usual because the shortage.
Originally published October 18, 2001.
