#schools close

CANADIAN ENTRY REQUIREMENTS - THE GOVERNMENT of Canada has advised that effective April 2015, all foreign nationals of visa exempt countries will be required to undergo prior screening for approval to enter that country. Due to the Canadian Government’s limited capacity to identify and screen foreign nationals who do not require a temporary resident visa to travel to Canada, it will be introducing the new Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) which is a new electronic document requirement for visa exempt travellers entering by air. The application fee for the eTA is CDN$7 (appox. BDS$12). As a consequence, all persons with Barbadian passports are expected to have the eTA prior to their departure for Canada. This includes all holders of diplomatic and official passports travelling to Canada on official or personal business. Only holders of diplomatic and official passports who are accredited to Canada will be exempt from this requirement. Additionally, an application for a work or study permit would constitute an eTA application and therefore, a separate application would not be required. Students in possession of the relevant student visa will be exempted. All Barbadian travellers arriving in Canada and in possession of an eTA will still be interviewed by a Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) official, who will determine final eligibility. Persons transiting Canada are also required to have an eTA prior to travelling.

JUDGES TOO POLITICAL - If retired Court of Appeal justice Sir Frederick Smith had his way, all legal judgments in Barbados would be returned within six months and any judges who were perceived to be “sleeping” on the bench would be dismissed forthwith. The former Attorney General would also change the way that judges are appointed since, in his estimation, the current system was simply too “political”. “When you come to the question of appointments, that is where the judiciary falls down. The Prime Minister should not be allowed to appoint judges,” Sir Frederick argued in an interview with Barbados TODAY. In fact, he was adamant that such appointments should be made by the country’s Judicial and Legal Services Commission “as presently comprised of the Chief Justice, the head of the Public Service Commission [and] one or two lawyers who had been judges themselves”.

BARBADOS LIGHT & POWER RESTRUCTURING - THERE IS UNLIKELY TO BE an exodus of workers from Barbados Light & Power Company (BL&P) as the electricity company restructures and shifts its focus to renewable energy. But a number of the company’s employees will have to adapt and fill new posts here, while others with have opportunities to work elsewhere in the Caribbean. This signal came Wednesday night from senior officials of BL&P’s Canadian parent company Emera Inc. during a presentation at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre. Emera Caribbean Limited president Sarah McDonald said some restructuring at the electricity utility was likely but that “we see it as a regional opportunity and we don’t think it should be seen as a negative for our staff”.

DIGICEL STILL SEEING RED - DIGICEL IS HAILING a position by the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ECTEL) that the proposed merger between Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC) and Columbus Communications Inc. (Columbus) is a matter of significant public interest for the region deserving of rigorous regulatory attention and diligent review. In a statement issued yesterday, ECTEL announced its ‘deep concern’ in relation to the proposed transaction and the fact that the proposed merger could ‘potentially result in a negative impact on competition’ by ‘reducing choice for consumers of both services and service providers’. ECTEL further noted that ‘increased monopolisation can erode the gains made by liberalisation’. ECTEL went on to say that the proposed merger raises significant issues in terms of potential breaches of licences by both CWC and Columbus which had to be investigated thoroughly.

GO AFTER OWNERS - Local architect Mark Hiorns says the current state of the island’s coastline is not only “offensive” but also “depressing”. And he is calling on Government to amend the Town & Country Planning Act to give the Town & Country Development Planning Office (TCDPO) the power to force the owners of incomplete and derelict buildings to finish them. Topping his list of offensive properties are the Harlequin in Rockley, Christ Church, the former Caribee Hotel in Hastings, Christ Church, Beachlands in Holetown, St James, the former Chefette site in Holetown, the Regency in Holetown, and the former Paradise Beach (better known as Four Seasons) at Clearwater Bay, St Michael.

ZR CRASH - POLICE AND EMERGENCY personnel had their hands full yesterday morning following a collision between two privately owned ZR vans, with one of them crashing into two other vehicles in the forecourt of a fuelling station. The Wildey Triangle, which is normally the scene of heavy traffic, was thrown into chaos, with vehicles backed up to as far as the Graeme Hall Roundabout in Christ Church after the crash, which left six people injured. Two of the injured were transported to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Rubis Gas Station in Wildey was the scene of the drama, and its manager Donald Layne stated that he had never witnessed anything like it. “Unfortunately, one of the vans . . . touched the other one and . . . then he came crashing into the station, hitting a car that was parked and moved it about 20 feet and into another vehicle that was refuelling at the pump.

HURDLER RETURNS HOME - Barbados’ World Champion hurdler Ryan Brathwaite has returned home to "reset" himself and get the support that he deemed was lacking in Orlando, Florida, where he was based for the last three years. “I’m here to get back that support of everyone in Barbados. The coaching is very good here and I was missing my old training routine, it was better than how I trained overseas. It is easier here. It was tough there because of the number of athletes on the team,” he said. “I’ve been training with Justin Gatlin, and Kelly Wells, some well known names. It has been a pleasure training with them but I had to come and reset myself with Alwyn Babb and work on the major stuff I was missing out on. We actually have a plan for next year.”

ROAD TENNIS - The most exciting road tennis player in the world, Antonio “Lil Man” Daniel, provided sheer entertainment and shots to storm into the quarter-finals of the Massy Clash of the Titans road tennis tournament on Wednesday night at The Villages at Coverley. Wielding his racquet like a wand, Daniel conjured up some unbelievable smashes and deft injections as he dismissed any perceived threat from Julian “Snake” Quimby, easily winning 21-16, 21-12. Although rain earlier caused the match to finish after midnight, almost all of the 2 000 fans remained until the end to ensure they got their fill of the “Daniel Show”.

CRICKET - THE BARBADOS PRIDE’S starting XI for today’s second round fixture of the West Indies Cricket Board’s Professional Cricket League against the Jamaica Franchise at the Windward Cricket Club, Lucas Street, St Philip is expected to show at least two changes to the side. These changes come after the team that was forced to settle for a draw in last weekend’s rain-affected contest with The Trinidad and Tobago Red Force at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain. The omission of middle-order bat Roston Chase from the 13-man squad named earlier in the week, automatically necessitates one alteration while it is anticipated that West Indies first-choice spinner Suleiman Benn, who missed the opening match due to injury, will duly take his place in the team.