New York  - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday that he and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper discussed efforts to secure the freedom of a Canadian diplomat kidnapped last December in Niger.

Robert Fowler, a high-ranking Canadian official and former ambassador to the United Nations, disappeared on December 14 with his foreign affairs aide, Louis Guay. They were in a UN-marked vehicle and were believed to be kidnapped with their driver.

Hong Kong - Top Hong Kong singer and actress Karen Mok was making plans Monday to fly to Canada to visit colonies of young seals, days before an annual hunt in which 300,000 will be slaughtered.

The trip is being organized by the Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) as part of a campaign lobbying for a ban on the trade of seal products in Hong Kong and China.

Mok, 38, will be accompanied on her March visit by a film crew to shoot a mini-documentary of her trip, which the SPCA plans to use in the campaign.

This Thursday the Ottawa Hospital announced the launch of the Emergency Department Reporting System at www. ontariowaittimes. com.

The local hospitals have also welcomed other provincial initiatives including the Wait Times Strategy, the Aging at Home Strategy, Tele-Health and Health-Care Connect, in an attempt to strengthen emergency wait time performance.

"Our government is creating an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability in hospital emergency care with the public reporting of time spent in the ER," said Health and Long-Term Care Minister David Caplan.

Leon's Furniture managed to off set the effects of recession and posted a growth of 7.4 per cent in fourth-quarter profits and higher overall sales.

On Thursday, the company announced income of $23.2 million during the last three months of 2008, an escalation from $21.6 million in the same period last year.

Profits were worth 33 cents per basic share, up from 31 cents a share in the same time frame.

The revenues also showed a growth, up to $269.9 million from $185.9 million, partially on the acquisition of Appliance Canada in January 2008.

According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. the slump in the economy will drive new home construction to a nine-year low in 2009. This prediction comes in stark contrast to what the Crown Corporation was saying in November.

In defense, Bill Clark, senior economist with CMHC, said that it was not possible last quarter to predict the economic decline we are now witnessing its impact on the economy.

Three months back CMHC conjectured that there would be 177,975 new homes built this year. On Thursday the figure was attuned to 160,250 a_" a level not seen since

Home renovation supply retailer Rona has taken the hit due to the fading consumer interest as a result of recession. It will build less than half of its previously planned stores this year and is skeptical about its financial performance over this year which might be falling well short of its earnings objectives for 2009.

"Given the current financial, economic crisis, we will remain very, very prudent and selective with our development projects, focusing on the projects with the highest return on investment," said Chief Financial Officer Claude Guevin, in a conference with the analysts.