Steve Madely's Top 5 Stories
Friday March 12, 2010
Item #5
Flames Shut the Door
The Ottawa Senators were torched by the Flames in Calgary. Ottawa was shut out 2-0. The Sens wrap up their road trip tomorrow night in Vancouver. The Leafs beat Tampa 4-3 in overtime, and the Habs beat Edmonton 5-4 in a shootout. Ontario's Glenn Howard has wrapped up an unbeaten round-robin at the Brier in Halifax. The Ottawa 67's host Oshawa tonight and will hold a special ceremony prior to the 7:35 faceoff to honour our city's First Responders.
Item #4
Gov't to Blame, Not Contractor
SNC-Lavalin has come out with a response to newspaper reports that the government was over charged for work done. They say if you look at the details of the invoices, you'll see the charges are "absolutely consistent with the going market price." The point I tried to make yesterday was not the price of the work done, it was the fact that instead of getting basic work done, the government chose to get the highest quality. Like two plants that cost $2,000, for example.
Item #3
Page vs. Flaherty, again
Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page comes under attack from Finance Minister Jim Flaherty hours after releasing a report that said the government's plan to balance the budget in five years simply won't work. Flaherty, in the House of Commons, said, "The parliamentary budget officer was wrong before and he is wrong again." The budget predicts Canada will be out of deficit spending by the end of 2015, but Page insists the outlook is too rosy.
Item #2
More Fodder for P.S. Benefit Critics
Premier Dalton McGuinty says the province is just honouring its union collective agreement with their severance package paid out to provincial tax collectors. 1,251 collectors will each receive up to $45,000 in severance as their jobs are transferred from the provincial ministry of revenue to the federal department of revenue. Displaced employees are being offered equivalent jobs with the CRA because collecting the 13% HST will be a federal responsibility.
Item #1
Accused Cop Killer Dies
The 70-year-old man accused of killing an Ontario Provincial Police officer has died in a London hospital. Fred Preston died last night three days after he was involved in the exchange of gunfire with two OPP officers that lead to the death of OPP Constable Vu Pham. Thousands of Police officers from across Canada and the U.S. will be in Wingham, Ontario today for Pham's funeral.
