Jan 9 (Reuters) – The following are the top stories from
selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these
stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
* Hope that Friday’s face-to-face discussions between Prime
Minister Stephen Harper and First Nations leaders will end
protests and disruptions across Canada is fast disintegrating.
Idle No More organizers will hold their own Friday meeting
for chiefs that were not invited to the talks with Harper. ()
* Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper ruled out any
military intervention in Mali and said the country will work
diplomatically with western allies and African countries to seek
a solution.
His comments came after a closed-door meeting with President
Thomas Boni Yayi of Benin, current head of the African Union,
who said that the insurgency in Mali poses a terrorist threat to
the whole world. ()
Reports in the business section:
* The Canadian Auto Workers union (CAW), facing steadily
declining membership at the Detroit Three auto makers, has
launched a new drive to organize about 7,000 workers at two
Toyota Motor Corp assembly plants in Ontario. ()
* Sales and profit continue to rise but Canadian business
leaders are surprisingly downbeat about the future.
Business confidence in the fourth quarter of 2012 suffered
its largest drop in more than two years, according to Deloitte
Canada’s “CFO Signals” index that tracks the attitudes of
Canadian chief financial officers. ()
NATIONAL POST
* The Ontario government is considering asking seniors with
higher incomes to chip in for their home care.
A report meant to pave the way for the province’s strategy
on seniors care recommends exploring the possibility of an
“income-based system.” ()
* Two Alberta-based First Nations said on Tuesday they were
taking the Stephen Harper government to court over its budget
legislation, adding another front in the actions aboriginals
have taken across the country to protest Bill C-45 and C-38. ()
FINANCIAL POST
* Banks have had a long run of strong profits but the good
times are about to become a little less because of the
underlying issue of interest rates, Toronto-Dominion Bank
Chief Executive Ed Clark said. ()
* GMP Capital Inc, one of Canada’s largest
independent investment dealers, cut 15 jobs on Tuesday in an
effort to reduce costs and weather difficult conditions for
dealers that are not housed within big banks.
The ongoing staff reductions, together with salary
reductions and a “rationalization” of the firm’s estate
footprint, are expected to produce annual fixed cost savings of
more than $5 million, GMP said. ()
