Canada
column for Sunday, Feb. 10/13
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THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By
Jim Fox
Tariffs on imports are cited as one reason Canadians are paying on
average 13 percent more for goods than their American neighbors even as the
dollar is about equal with the U.S. currency.
The Senate Finance Committee said while tariffs are just one factor in
prices, they are something the government can do something about.
“Canadians
consumers are feeling ripped off,” said Senator Joseph Day, who chaired the
eight-month study.
Tariffs used to protect domestic businesses brought in $3.6 billion in
revenue for the government in the last year and are being reviewed, Finance
Minister Jim Flaherty said in calling for the Senate study.
Price
differences drive thousands of Canadians to cross the border to shop for
groceries, clothing, buy gas and car parts as well as seek out a larger
selection of goods.
Also an issue is the economy of scale with Canada’s smaller marketplace,
vast distances and higher wages and benefits.
The report noted that a Lexus made in Cambridge, Ontario sells for
$44,950 in Canada but only $40,950 in the U.S., including Hawaii. Books are
routinely marked up, sometimes by up to 40 percent on some titles.
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Sunwing Vacations plans to sue the David MacNeil family of Cape Breton
to recoup up to $50,000 in costs after a disturbance over smoking caused an
unscheduled overnight stopover in Bermuda.
When confronted by the crew of a plane en route to the Dominican
Republic from Halifax about alleged smoking in the restroom, three family
members became verbally abusive.
They were arrested on landing when the plane was diverted to Bermuda.
The husband and wife were fined a total of $1,000 for disruptive behavior and
failing to obey orders of the flight crew.
The incident caused the Sunwing to put up about 200 passengers in
Bermuda hotels, cutting short their vacations, and a similar number waiting to
return from Punta Canta, spokesman Daryl McWilliams said.
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News
in brief:
-
Many schools were closed, flights canceled and there were numerous collisions
as a fierce winter storm walloped Ontario and Eastern Canada. Ten inches of
snow fell in Toronto on Friday, the most since a storm in 2008. The worst of
the weather moved into the Maritimes on the weekend where residents braced for
a powerful “Nor’easter” with high winds and snow. It’s still balmy out west,
with Vancouver highs in the mid-40s and Calgary where the same is expected on
Monday and Tuesday.
- The
100 days of student protests in Quebec last year over proposed tuition fee
increases cost taxpayers about $90 million, a report says. The money was for overtime
pay for police and security measures as well as repairs to damaged buildings.
More than 2,000 students were arrested in the protests that prompted Jean
Charest to resign as premier, with his Liberal party losing the election last
September.
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Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar dipped by a half-cent to 99.71 cents U.S. on Friday with
weaker-than-expected job creation figures. The U.S. greenback returned $1.0029
in Canadian funds.
The
economy lost 21,900 jobs last month while the jobless rate dropped 0.1 percent
to 7 percent as more people stopped seeking work, Statistics Canada said.
The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate is 1 percent while the
prime-lending rate is 3 percent.
Stock
markets are mixed, with the Toronto exchange index up at 12,780 points and the
TSX Venture index lower at 1,204 points.
Lotto 6-49: (Feb. 6) 4, 18, 23, 25, 39 and 43; bonus 7. (Feb. 2) 4, 15,
22, 27, 29 and 31; bonus 47. Lotto Max: (Feb. 1) 5, 9, 10, 32, 37, 44 and 46;
bonus 38.
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Regional briefs:
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Damage is in the millions of dollars after a fire destroyed the 118-year-old
St. Albert Cheese Co-Operative in Eastern Ontario. Company officials said the
plant that employed 120 workers will be rebuilt. The cause of the fire is not
known. Other cheese factories are helping to produce the St. Albert curds that
are a staple for Quebecois poutine (French fries smothered with gravy and
melted cheese curds).
-
A marijuana possession conviction 32 years ago blocked Myles Wilkinson of
Victoria from a fantasy football trip to the Super Bowl in New Orleans. He beat
out four-million competitors to win the trip but immigration authorities
stopped him from entering the U.S. Instead of seeing the game and partying in
person, the NFL invited him as a guest of honor at a Super Bowl party in
Vancouver.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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