Fort Lauderdale, Fla., homeowner Stephen Chase got the surprise of his life when a Quebec family travelled 2,600 km and knocked on his front door, thinking they had rented his house.
It turns out they had fallen victim to scammers who are fleecing Canadians by posting fake house rental ads on the Internet.
Several websites show luxurious beachfront residences, but the houses are in fact being listed without the owners' knowledge.
Chase has had several visitors and cold calls from Canada in recent weeks.
"Ten days ago, an elderly couple from the Quebec City area showed up at my door," he told QMI Agency in a phone interview. "He was here to rent my house."
The couple, who speak no English, had to call a family member in Quebec to translate Chase's explanation and figure out that they had been swindled.
Chase said his neighbour has received five visits from Canadians, including two Montrealers who came to her door last week.
"They wanted the keys because they had rented the house," said Chase, who has contacted the FBI.
The fraudsters created ads featuring real photos and even addresses of luxurious Florida homes. Prospective renters are asked to wire money to complete the transaction. They're then redirected to the home and only realize they've been scammed when they arrive in Florida to move in.
Quebecer Marie-France Daoust says she nearly lost $6,000 after she answered an ad on villa4vacation.com. She and a friend decided in September to rent a house in Fort Lauderdale to have a family vacation with relatives.
She contacted a person who claimed to be the owner of a home in Fort Lauderdale, and sent a $2,850 cheque. She received a stamped contract a few days later asking her to send the balance by cheque.
But she grew suspicious when she received a phone call asking her to change her method of payment.
Upon further investigation, she discovered that the home actually belongs to an unwitting 85-year-old woman who never intended to rent out her house.
Daoust stopped payment on her cheque before it was cashed.
"I've been lucky because the bank didn't deposit the first cheque," said Daoust.
Stephen Chase has since uncovered eight websites that have posted false rental listings in Florida.
Villa4vacation.com lists a New York City phone number, a New Jersey post office box and claims "every vacation rental property" is listed on its site "directly by the owners and managers."
The operators did not respond to QMI Agency's request for an interview.
--With files from Brian Daly
http://www.torontosun.com/2011/12/08/florida-rental-scam-targets-canadians
Criticism mounts over Ottawa’s decision to abandon Kyoto
The Conservative government is facing a barrage of criticism at home and abroad for its decision to pull out of the Kyoto Protocol, including assertions the move could be breaking federal law.
On Tuesday, Canada’s Environment Commissioner Scott Vaughan said he has a legal mandate to continue to inform Parliament of the government’s progress when it comes to meeting its targets under the binding climate accord.
Under the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act, Vaughan is obliged to provide yearly reports to MPs on the country’s efforts to meet its targets — even if the government pulls out of the agreement. Vaughan said he is working with a team of lawyers to determine what the implications of the government’s decision will be.
“If the act remains, then we will inform Parliament, and the question will be: How will we do this?” Vaughan said. “If the act remains an act of Parliament, then we will abide by the law.”
Green Party of Canada Leader Elizabeth May accused the Conservatives of breaking domestic law by withdrawing from the international climate-change accord — a move she says has made Canada a “pariah on the world stage.”
“The Kyoto Implementation Act ... has royal assent. It requires Canada to continue reporting and doing its job, fulfilling its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol,” May said on Parliament Hill. “I wonder that the Prime Minister of this country thinks he can withdraw us from an international treaty which was ratified by the House of Commons with no discussion in the House, and violate a domestic law with no discussion in the House.”
On Monday, just a few hours after returning to Ottawa from the Durban climate talks in South Africa, Environment Minister Peter Kent announced that Canada would be pulling out of the binding climate treaty. At the summit, countries agreed to begin negotiating a new climate change accord. Calling Kyoto “radical and irresponsible,” Kent argued that the treaty would cost the Canadian economy thousands of jobs and $14 billion in penalties for failing to meet emissions targets.
Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, characterized the Conservative government’s decision as “surprising and regrettable” while urging the remaining developed countries to meet the commitments set at the conference.
“Whether or not Canada is a party to the Kyoto Protocol, it has a legal obligation under the convention to reduce its emissions, and a moral obligation to itself and future generations to lead in the global effort,” Figueres said in a statement. “Industrialized countries, whose emissions have risen significantly since 1990, as is the case for Canada, remain in a weaker position to call on developing countries to limit their emissions.”
China, the world’s largest polluter, also took the opportunity to slam Canada on Tuesday in an editorial published by Xinhua, the country’s official news agency.
“Canada Monday became the first country to pull out of the historic Kyoto Protocol, inescapably scarring the global anti-climate change efforts,” the article read. “The biggest concern at this moment is whether other developed countries would follow suit.”
Japan characterized Canada’s decision as “disappointing” and said it should not be viewed as an excuse by others to become lax in their efforts to meet obligations.
In the United Kingdom, Tim Gore, Oxfam’s International climate adviser, called Canada’s withdrawal “an affront to the nearly one billion people who struggle every day to feed their families in the face of increasingly frequent and severe droughts, floods, heat waves and storms.”
An Indian official said Canada’s decision could jeopardize any gains made at the meeting in South Africa.
In a recent report, the National Round Table on the Environment and Economy estimated that a failure to act on climate change could cost Canada as much as $5 billion a year by 2020, and as much as $91 billion by 2050.
The federal government has said it wants to work on a deal that will force all countries to lower greenhouse-gas emissions, including the United States and China.
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1101214--criticism-mounts-over-ottawa-s-decision-to-abandon-kyoto
On Tuesday, Canada’s Environment Commissioner Scott Vaughan said he has a legal mandate to continue to inform Parliament of the government’s progress when it comes to meeting its targets under the binding climate accord.
Under the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act, Vaughan is obliged to provide yearly reports to MPs on the country’s efforts to meet its targets — even if the government pulls out of the agreement. Vaughan said he is working with a team of lawyers to determine what the implications of the government’s decision will be.
“If the act remains, then we will inform Parliament, and the question will be: How will we do this?” Vaughan said. “If the act remains an act of Parliament, then we will abide by the law.”
Green Party of Canada Leader Elizabeth May accused the Conservatives of breaking domestic law by withdrawing from the international climate-change accord — a move she says has made Canada a “pariah on the world stage.”
“The Kyoto Implementation Act ... has royal assent. It requires Canada to continue reporting and doing its job, fulfilling its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol,” May said on Parliament Hill. “I wonder that the Prime Minister of this country thinks he can withdraw us from an international treaty which was ratified by the House of Commons with no discussion in the House, and violate a domestic law with no discussion in the House.”
On Monday, just a few hours after returning to Ottawa from the Durban climate talks in South Africa, Environment Minister Peter Kent announced that Canada would be pulling out of the binding climate treaty. At the summit, countries agreed to begin negotiating a new climate change accord. Calling Kyoto “radical and irresponsible,” Kent argued that the treaty would cost the Canadian economy thousands of jobs and $14 billion in penalties for failing to meet emissions targets.
Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, characterized the Conservative government’s decision as “surprising and regrettable” while urging the remaining developed countries to meet the commitments set at the conference.
“Whether or not Canada is a party to the Kyoto Protocol, it has a legal obligation under the convention to reduce its emissions, and a moral obligation to itself and future generations to lead in the global effort,” Figueres said in a statement. “Industrialized countries, whose emissions have risen significantly since 1990, as is the case for Canada, remain in a weaker position to call on developing countries to limit their emissions.”
China, the world’s largest polluter, also took the opportunity to slam Canada on Tuesday in an editorial published by Xinhua, the country’s official news agency.
“Canada Monday became the first country to pull out of the historic Kyoto Protocol, inescapably scarring the global anti-climate change efforts,” the article read. “The biggest concern at this moment is whether other developed countries would follow suit.”
Japan characterized Canada’s decision as “disappointing” and said it should not be viewed as an excuse by others to become lax in their efforts to meet obligations.
In the United Kingdom, Tim Gore, Oxfam’s International climate adviser, called Canada’s withdrawal “an affront to the nearly one billion people who struggle every day to feed their families in the face of increasingly frequent and severe droughts, floods, heat waves and storms.”
An Indian official said Canada’s decision could jeopardize any gains made at the meeting in South Africa.
In a recent report, the National Round Table on the Environment and Economy estimated that a failure to act on climate change could cost Canada as much as $5 billion a year by 2020, and as much as $91 billion by 2050.
The federal government has said it wants to work on a deal that will force all countries to lower greenhouse-gas emissions, including the United States and China.
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1101214--criticism-mounts-over-ottawa-s-decision-to-abandon-kyoto
Teen charged in officer’s dragging death granted bail
The teenager charged with first-degree murder in the June death of a York Regional Police officer has been granted bail.
The Newmarket boy was released after a Nov. 28 bail hearing, his lawyer confirmed late Tuesday. He cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
The youth, who was 15 at the time of the incident, remains a quadriplegic and isn’t expected to regain the use of his arms or legs, lawyer David Berg said.
Const. Garrett Styles, 32, died in the early hours of June 28 after he attempted to pull over a speeding minivan with four people inside.
At one point, Styles reached in to grab the keys and the van lurched forward, dragging him 300 metres before the van hit a ditch and rolled on top of him.
Styles left a wife and two young children.
Berg told reporters in September that the boy was “extremely depressed” and spending his days in hospital undergoing occupational and physical therapy.
Berg said his client can talk easily and has all his mental faculties, even though he apparently lost consciousness at some point during the incident.
The Crown has indicated that it would seek an adult sentence if the youth is convicted of first-degree murder, which would mean life in prison.
The next court date for the accused is Feb. 8 in Newmarket.
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1101563--teen-charged-in-officer-s-dragging-death-granted-bail?bn=1
The Newmarket boy was released after a Nov. 28 bail hearing, his lawyer confirmed late Tuesday. He cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
The youth, who was 15 at the time of the incident, remains a quadriplegic and isn’t expected to regain the use of his arms or legs, lawyer David Berg said.
Const. Garrett Styles, 32, died in the early hours of June 28 after he attempted to pull over a speeding minivan with four people inside.
At one point, Styles reached in to grab the keys and the van lurched forward, dragging him 300 metres before the van hit a ditch and rolled on top of him.
Styles left a wife and two young children.
Berg told reporters in September that the boy was “extremely depressed” and spending his days in hospital undergoing occupational and physical therapy.
Berg said his client can talk easily and has all his mental faculties, even though he apparently lost consciousness at some point during the incident.
The Crown has indicated that it would seek an adult sentence if the youth is convicted of first-degree murder, which would mean life in prison.
The next court date for the accused is Feb. 8 in Newmarket.
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1101563--teen-charged-in-officer-s-dragging-death-granted-bail?bn=1
Toronto City Hall bells saved by the bureaucrats?
Toronto’s most famous bells have been saved by the bureaucrats.
Pressed by Mayor Rob Ford’s administration to cut costs, city officials had entertained the thought of disconnecting Old City Hall’s 111-year-old mechanical clock-and-bells system. They would have replaced it with a cheaper but unromantic alternative: an electric clock mechanism and a speaker system that would have blasted a recording of bell sounds.
Ford himself came out against the idea, saying he liked the real bells. The city decided in the summer to keep them ringing.
The company it hired to maintain the clock and bells until 2016, Scotiabell, will also develop “a long-term maintenance plan based on heritage preservation principles and traditional methods,” said city spokesperson Kazia Fraser.
Heritage Toronto executive director Karen Carter lauded the decision. “We’ve always glad when we’re talking to someone in the press about something being preserved instead of taken away, especially in this era of cost-cutting,” she said.
The bells sounded for the first time during on Dec. 31, 1900. The huge main bell rings heavily every hour, the two smaller bells more softly on the quarter-hour.
The clock mechanism was produced in 1900 by a top British manufacturer. Unusually large, and of unusually high quality, it features an accuracy-improving remontoire that is one of only four of its kind in the world.
The city has typically spent about $50,000 per year to maintain the system. The new contract is for $37,000 per year.
David and Phil Abernethy, a father-son horologist team profiled by the Star in March, had done almost all of the maintenance in the two decades since they fixed the clock after it froze in 1992.
“Obviously we didn’t meet their expectations in terms of cost. We respect their decision and are confident that the city will receive value for their money,” Phil Abernethy said.
Mechanical clocks worldwide have been converted to electric power. How long can Toronto’s signature clock keep on ticking?
“It was designed to do this work forever,” David Abernethy said in March. “And if it’s kept up in good condition, the clock will go for another century, without question.”
http://www.thestar.com/news/cityhallpolitics/article/1101557--toronto-city-hall-bells-saved-by-the-bureaucrats?bn=1
Pressed by Mayor Rob Ford’s administration to cut costs, city officials had entertained the thought of disconnecting Old City Hall’s 111-year-old mechanical clock-and-bells system. They would have replaced it with a cheaper but unromantic alternative: an electric clock mechanism and a speaker system that would have blasted a recording of bell sounds.
Ford himself came out against the idea, saying he liked the real bells. The city decided in the summer to keep them ringing.
The company it hired to maintain the clock and bells until 2016, Scotiabell, will also develop “a long-term maintenance plan based on heritage preservation principles and traditional methods,” said city spokesperson Kazia Fraser.
Heritage Toronto executive director Karen Carter lauded the decision. “We’ve always glad when we’re talking to someone in the press about something being preserved instead of taken away, especially in this era of cost-cutting,” she said.
The bells sounded for the first time during on Dec. 31, 1900. The huge main bell rings heavily every hour, the two smaller bells more softly on the quarter-hour.
The clock mechanism was produced in 1900 by a top British manufacturer. Unusually large, and of unusually high quality, it features an accuracy-improving remontoire that is one of only four of its kind in the world.
The city has typically spent about $50,000 per year to maintain the system. The new contract is for $37,000 per year.
David and Phil Abernethy, a father-son horologist team profiled by the Star in March, had done almost all of the maintenance in the two decades since they fixed the clock after it froze in 1992.
“Obviously we didn’t meet their expectations in terms of cost. We respect their decision and are confident that the city will receive value for their money,” Phil Abernethy said.
Mechanical clocks worldwide have been converted to electric power. How long can Toronto’s signature clock keep on ticking?
“It was designed to do this work forever,” David Abernethy said in March. “And if it’s kept up in good condition, the clock will go for another century, without question.”
http://www.thestar.com/news/cityhallpolitics/article/1101557--toronto-city-hall-bells-saved-by-the-bureaucrats?bn=1
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