The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Ottawa - Visitors to national parks and monuments could see picket lines as early as this Friday, as Parks Canada faces a strike deadline. Negotiations between the park service and 4,800 members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada have failed, leaving the two sides far apart on key issues such as wages. Parks Canada operates hundreds of key tourist attractions across the country, from Green Gables Heritage Place on Prince Edward Island to Pacific Rim National Park in British Columbia. Otawa - The number of people making refugee claims in Canada dropped by 30 per cent in the first six months of this year, to the lowest level in a decade. Numbers from the Immigration and Refugee Board show more than 12,000 people came to Canada and claimed refugee status. That's almost one-third fewer than in the same period last year. Refugee advocates say security precautions adopted in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks against the United States are to blame. Edmonton - Alberta seniors will no longer have to pay health-care premiums, a move expected to put an extra $1,000 a year in their pockets. The change will take effect Oct. 1, and is expected to cost the province $92 million a year. Health-care premiums have been a hot topic in the country. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty introduced a premium in Ontario after winning an election in which he vowed not to raise taxes.
