The Gazette from Montreal, Quebec, Canada • 8

EARLY EDITION A12 THE GAZETTE, MONTREAL, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2006 WANT TO TALK TO US? National editor: Jan Davtnport 514-987-2538 jdvnportthgantt.cnw.tt.com Peppered with questions smeoia 1 NATION PM snub Chinese deny diplomat was booted out for spying JOURNALISTS BARRED Meeting with Chinese FROM PHOTO-OPS leader still up in air visa of Wang Pengfei, a second secretary with the embassy. Falun Cong is a popular meditative movement that Beijing has banned as a religious cult. Sandra Buckler, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief spokesperson, gave no specific details on the case when asked about it in Hanoi at the APEC summit. "We do have a case where they didn't renew the diplomatic visa," she said. "I believe he has left the country." Foreign Affairs also declined all comment on the matter.

CANWEST NEWS SERVICE In meetings with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Harper spoke of trade ties and Canada's aid contributions to the rapidly developing nation, but added that "economic and political reform go hand in hand," according to a government official who was present In particular, the PM expressed concern about Vietnamese government corruption, and the well-publicized crackdowns on political dissidents and religious practitioners. He told his counterpart that this "resonates particularly for Canadians of Vietnamese origin," according to the official Today, Harper is to meet with the prime minister of New land and South Korea's president, according to his official itinerary A news report yesterday said Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, president of the Philippines, would have a bilateral meeting with Harper some time today, though the Canadian delegation made no mention of any additions to the PM's official schedule er's reaction to a counter-charge from Beijing's foreign ministry that his comments about China were "irresponsible," the prime minister refused to answer and PMO officials barred journalists from attending any of his subsequent photo opportunities with APEC leaders. That meant Harper didn't take questions or deliver statements yesterday on a range of high-level issues affecting and worrying Canadians back home They included the rare use of a security certificate to arrest a suspected Russian spy in Montreal, a boil-water advisory for Vancouver, and the substance of his talks with Australian Prime Minister John Howard. Australia is a founding member of the Asia Pacific Partnership, a group of six countries seeking to fight environmental degradation outside the confines of the Kyoto Protocol. Canada is a Kyoto signatory, but has publicly questioned the effectiveness of the international treaty because of unique circumstances -namely the huge reserves of oil OTTAWA The Chinese embassy denied yesterday that one of its diplomats was kicked out of Canada for spying on Falun Cong practitioners.

"The diplomat has completed his term cf office. He was called back," said a senior Chinese official, who is not authorized to be quoted by name. "It's just a normal change of personnel." The official said the diplomat had served his normal three-year posting and was not engaged in spying. The Chinese-language Epoch Times newspaper reported this week that Foreign Affairs refused to extend the diplomatic in Alberta, a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. In May, Harper told Howard Canada was interested in joining the AP6.

Prior to last night's dinner with him, he said only that those talks would continue. He made his comments to "the Canadian media" though a camera crew. No reporters were present eminent met the Dalai Lama, tacitly recognized Taiwan as a country separate from mainland China, and accused the Communist government of industrial espionage, all since coming to office last February Officials the Prime Minister's Office who are attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in Vietnam said there's "nothing confirmed" and there's "nothing more" they're willing to reveal about efforts to arrange a meeting, which the Chinese have said will happen before the two-day summit ends tomorrow. Harper has refused any comment in the two days since he insinuated to Canadian reporters that Hu cancelled their proposed meeting because he's unwilling to hear Canada's blunt message on human rights concerns. When a reporter sought Harp rf vw Fallen colleague remembered 'f rni.ni r-iMi, I -) 0 DO 5 ALLAN WOODS CANWEST NEWS SERVICE Hanoi Canada raised human rights violations with the Vietnamese and spoke with the Australians, but Prime Minister Stephen Harper refused yesterday to address the seemingly stalled plan to meet the Chinese leader that has marred his trip to this weekend's APEC summit.

Questions about the on-again, off-again meeting with President Hu Jintao gained new urgency following revelations Canada revoked the diplomatic standing of a high-ranking Chinese diplomat in Ottawa, allegedly for spying on Falun Gong practitioners. The move clearly adds to the strain in relations between Canada and China that's become increasingly public in recent days. Ties were already shaky after representatives of the Tory gov- Dogs maul 5-year-old to death Wild packs plague Alberta reserve JEFFREY HAWKINS CANWEST NEWS SERVICE edmonton A 5-yearold killed by a pack of dogs Thursday night on a northern Alberta reserve was so badly mauled that he was impossible to identify at first Police said the boy, whose identity is being withheld at the request of his family, was attacked by five or six large dogs while walking back home from a relative's house a few doors away "Since he had so much damage done to his face and upper body, we really had a hard time making a positive identification last evening," RCMP unit commander Sgt. Ryan Becker said. "In all my years on the force, I've never seen damage like this." Becker said most of the dogs involved were likely strays, which have been a chronic problem on the North Tallcree First Nation, a Cree reserve of about 250 people near Fort Vermilion, about 180 kilometres south of the Northwest Territory boundary Police said the owner of two of the dogs, an adult male Rottweiler and a German shepherd, tried to pull them off the small boy, but by that time his face had been "severely" damaged.

An air-ambulance team transferred the boy to St. Theresa's General Hospital in Fort Vermilion, but he died before arriving. Becker said the two dogs known to be involved in the latest attack have been quarantined, and the owner is willing to have them exterminated. Dog attacks, especially on young children, are a recurring problem for northern communities. Two young boys died in separate incidents on Manitoba re serves this year In June, a 3-year-old was killed in a mauling on Sayisi Dene First Nation, and in July, Derian Bird, 2, died from a mauling on the Hollow Water First Nation.

In September, 29-year-old Margaret Queskekapow was attacked by wild dogs on Manitoba's Norway House First Nation The attack lasted 10 to 15 minutes and left Queskekapow with injuries to her right arm so severe that reconstructive plastic surgery was her only hope for restoring even limited function. Some northern reserves have bylaws stating that dog owners must keep their pets tied up. On others, there are standing orders to shoot stray dogs on sight EDMONTON JOURNAL, WINNIPEG FREE PRESS. VANCOUVER SUN to pose questions or take notes. "What we have in common here is that we're major producers and exporters of energy and we're going to talk about energy security and the environmental challenges we have," he said into the camera before the meeting.

The outcome of those talks was not revealed. "if'' had an easier, more certain future elsewhere." The mass exodus after the 1976 referendum also paved the way for greater movement mainly to Toronto and the United States. "When you have migration like that, it creates a sort of cham reaction on a small scale," said Jack Jedwab, executive director of the Association for Canadian Studies. Quebec anglos have other aims in leaving than most Canadians, he said. "They leave predomi hantty lor reasons of political and economic security, as opposed to leaving fbrabetter job." French Quebecers tend to be more tied to their distinct culture and scared of losing their identity, Jedwab said.

A lack of English also plays a part he said. Ross Finnie, who wrote the study, noted that overall the numbers were small, with only about 10 out of 3,000 anglos 18 and over leaving the country Once Quebec anglos leave, the study found, they are the least likely of all Canadians to come back. Francophone Quebecers are the most likely to return. rbruemmer thegazette.canwest.com DAVE CHIDLEY CANADIAN PRESS DIED ANSWERING CALL Police officers and firefighters from across the province marched at the funeral of Ontario Provincial Police officer David Mounsey in VVingham, yesterday. Premier Dalton McGuinty, Lieutenant-Governor James Bartleman and new OPP commissioner Julian Fantino were among nearly 1,500 mourners.

Mounsey died in a hospital Monday after a collision on Oct. 14 while responding to a police call. In addition to working for the Huron OPP, Mounsey served as a volunteer firefighter in Blyth, Ont. fasttrack NEW BRUNSWICK Ottawa to sink money in salmon fredericton The federal government is providing $30 mil lion to conserve and restore wild Atlantic salmon on the East Coast and in Quebec. Government sources say the funding will be formally announced today by Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn, accompanied by Peter MacKay, the minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency ONTARIO Priest is named Cornwall A priest has lost his bid to keep his name private at an inquiry into the institutional response to decades of sexual child abuse allegations.

Lawyers for Rev. Charles MacDonald had argued he would suffer harm if the public heard unproved alle gations against him. Yesterday, inquiry commissioner Nor-mand Glaude ruled he has been linked to the case for a long time. "I cannot unscramble an egg that was scrambled many years ago," he said. MacDonald was arrested by the OPP's Project Truth investigators in 1994.

In 2002, several sex-related charges were stayed; a judge ruled it took too long to bring them to trial We're feeling sting of decline in bees Windsor Bumblebees brought in to pollinate greenhouse tomatoes may be behind a "drastic" decline in native bees, University of Guelph professor Peter Kevan said yesterday "The same diseases which are affecting our greenhouse pollinators are spilling out on to the native bumblebees, and there we're seeing some drastic declines in native bumblebees that used to be very common." MANITOBA Thanks a million, museum tells donors Winnipeg The Canadian Museum for Human Rights has two more million-dollar benefactors, pushing the ambitious project closer to its $161-million fundraising goal Doug Harvey, president and CEO of Maxim Transportation, personally pledged $1 million to the museum yesterday Meanwhile, architect Morley Blankstein and his wife, Marjorie, doubled a previous pledge of $500,000. CANWEST NEWS SERVICE, CANADIAN PRESS School of Policy Studies at Queen's University and author of the report released yesterday "I didn't expect to see these findings. I was floored." Granted, departure rates crept up in the 1990s, but they were never high by historical standards, Finnie added. "Discussions became a little rhetorical and the empirical evidence was misrepresented and exaggerated." The study also suggests the annual rates of return have risen by 50 per cent since the 1990s "Leaving Canada.is by no means the point of no return, and especially of late," the report states. After five years, about 15 per cent of those who left had returned to Canada.

Overall, those who leave are more likely to be young, urban and high-income earners. Urbanites in large cities were twice as likely to leave as people from rural areas, while departure rates were highest among those age 25 to 34. Those earning mere than $100,000 were about six times more likely to leave than those with incomes of $60,000 or less. Quebec francophones are 10 times less likely to leave Brain drain to U.S. down to a trickle RENE BRUEMMER THE GAZETTE The pull of greater economic and political stability lures anglophone Quebecers away from Canada in far greater numbers than their provincial counterparts, a new study suggests.

Members of the province's English minority are four times as likely as residents of Ontario, for example, to emigrate, according to a Statistics Canada study tracking the numbers who left each year between 1982 and 2003. Conversely, francophone Quebecers are the most tied to place, one third less likely than most Canadians to depart, and 10 times less apt to leave than the province's anglophones. "For francophones, Quebec has become increasingly a place where they can do business in their own language," said Jar-rett Rudy, director of Quebec Studies at McGill University The linguistic shift that occurred after the Quiet Revolution and Bill 101 made it more difficult for anglos uncomfortable in French Rudy noted. And separation anxiety never entirely disappeared, Rudy said. "Anglos may have felt that they After 2000, trend fell 'significantly' SARAH SCHMIDT CANWEST NEWS SERVICE Ottawa It turns out the lure of America isn't so strong after alL The so-called brain drain of Canadians seeking opportunities elsewhere, particularly in the United States, rose in the 1990s, but fell "significantly" after 2000, a new Statistics Canada study has found.

Among men the exodus dropped by 45 per cent, and by 31 per cent among women. And, even at its peak in 1997-when the brain-drain issue dominated political debate and helped advance the tax-cutting agenda -it amounted to only 133 adults out of IOOjXC leaving Canada By 2003, it had dropped to 81 out of 100,000, or about 15,000 in total, down from about 27,000 three years earlier "I was surprised in the magnitude of the drop," said Ross Finnie, research fellow at the.