Oct 23 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from
selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these
stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** An "industry-wide state of depression" is weighing
heavily on Canada's oilfield service sector as Precision
Drilling Corp PD.TO and Mullen Group Ltd MTL.TO kicked off
earnings season this week.
** A new study shows Canada's big family-controlled public
companies have a better track record for investors than widely
held corporations, and the study's authors say the findings
prove that lingering investor bias against family firms should
be buried once and for all.
** Ontario's Liberal government did not ask to see receipts
for the expenses of three teachers' unions before secretly
paying them $2.5 million to cover their costs during contract
talks. Education Minister Liz Sandals admitted on Thursday that
there are no itemized accounts of exactly what taxpayers' money
paid for.
NATIONAL POST
** Allegations of fraud involving Valeant Pharmaceuticals (N:VRX)
International Inc VRX.TO and its relationship with specialty
pharmacies risks further damaging the foundations of a company
model that some forensic accountants say is already built on
shaky ground.
** The Canadian media industry now has a whole different way
to measure audiences for magazine and newspapers. Media analysis
firms NADbank and the Print Measurement Bureau launched on
Thursday an amalgamated organization called Vividata, releasing
its first set of results aimed at reflecting the shift of
consumer reading habits across print and digital platforms for
magazines and newspaper brands.
** Jason Kenney is a wizard in a scrum. Intellectually
nimble, rhetorically agile, reflexively partisan, the
Conservatives' former "Mr. Fix-it" is everything one could ask
for in a future party leader, yes? Of course yes. Kenney is
also, it turns out, a comedian.