Harper stands by embattled Regina MP Tom Lukiwski

REGINA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Monday stood by embattled Regina Conservative MP Tom Lukiwski, whose anti-gay remarks more than 16 years ago continued to prompt calls from the opposition for his resignation as parliamentary secretary.

The Regina gay and lesbian community also called on Harper to take action, and plans to rally Tuesday at Lukiwski’s Regina-Lumsden-Lake Centre office.

The coalition of gay-friendly groups are calling themselves the “B Team,” a reference to the remarks Lukiwski made on a 1991 video, released last week by the provincial NDP. The footage of Progressive Conservative campaign workers shows Lukiwski saying “A” guys are like him and “the Bs are homosexual faggots with dirt on their fingernails that transmit diseases.”

First Calgary succeeds in delaying AGM

CALGARY — First Calgary Petroleums Ltd. succeeded Monday in delaying a shareholder meeting that will decide whether chief executive Richard Anderson will retain control of the company he built.

In a last-minute hearing, Calgary’s Court of Queen’s Benchaccepted the company’s request to delay the AGM, previously scheduled for Tuesday. The meeting will now go ahead April 18.

Waterford Finance & Investment Limited, a British private equity firm that represents a largely Russian clientele and owns about 10 per cent of First Calgary, is attempting to oust Mr. Anderson and First Calgary’s board, saying that it is unhappy with the pace of development in Algeria and with the erosion of the company’s share price.

Since a failed attempt to sell the company in 2005, the stock has plummeted to less than $3 a share today from near $25.

Canadians to spend their way around recession; 2.2 per cent growth seen

OTTAWA — Too many Canadians have jobs and money to spend for the Canadian economy to succumb to the recessionary pressures coming from the United States., the Conference Board of Canada says in a new forecast issued Monday.

The economic think-tank’s spring outlook presents the most rosy picture of any major private-sector forecaster about Canada’s prospects in 2008, predicting the economy will grow by 2.2 per cent.

While down from the board’s 2.8 January forecast, the optimistic appraisal is still well above the current private sector consensus of 1.5 per cent, and some recent projections that would suggest the Canadian economy is in peril of a recession.

Global Insight Canada, another respected private-sector forecast group, will announce later this month that it too has downgraded its growth projection for the economy to 1.6 per cent this year.

Uncertainty surrounds B.C. carbon cap plan

OTTAWA and VANCOUVER — For months now, managers of a Chevron refinery in Burnaby, B.C., have known that the plant would fall under any carbon dioxide cap-and-trade regime put in place by federal or provincial authorities.

With British Columbia unveiling a cap-and-trade bill last week, it’s clear which government is moving first.

But Chevron, along with other big greenhouse gas emitters in the province, remains in the dark on key aspects of the system and how much it will cost to comply.

“It’s a challenge to begin working out what the practical options are for us,” Chevron Canada Ltd. spokesman Ray Lord said when the legislation was announced.

Bonjour Montreal, here’s Paris

Several hundred fans blocked a downtown Montreal street on Saturday, where American heiress Paris Hilton was appearing at a shoe store to kick off her new line of footwear. Some came bearing small dogs, in homage to Hilton’s own love for canine breeds like Chihuahuas. Others sported “I Love Paris Hilton” T-shirts. There was a lot of screaming, with the adulation bordering on religious.

Adding to the surrealism of it all, a group of Raelians had apparently decided to piggyback on the publicity of the Hilton appearance. About a dozen of them, wearing pink Rael hats, were distributing cards touting the power of womanhood. “Femininity is Love,” read the handouts, which stressed their belief to “feminize the Earth,” as a way of avoiding war.

Hilton, meanwhile, was inside Browns Shoes, signing photos for fans and helming a celebrity-journalism assembly line, where reporters were trotted through a carefully-orchestrated opportunity for eight minutes with Hilton.