Canada column for Sunday, June 19/16
THE CANADIAN REPORT
By Jim Fox
Walmart Canada has
taken its battle with Visa over what it calls high credit card fees directly to
its customers.
The U.S.-based
retail giant said that due to “unacceptably high fees” it will stop accepting
Visa cards beginning July 18 in Thunder Bay, Ontario and expand the ban to its
more than 400 Canadian stores.
Walmart said it is
trying to trim the more than $100 million in fees it pays annually for
accepting credit cards.
Visa stepped up the
feud with newspaper ads accusing Walmart of using consumers as pawns.
“Walmart is
unfairly dragging millions of Canadian consumers into the middle of a business
disagreement that can and should be resolved between our companies,” it said.
Visa said it
offered Walmart one of the lowest rates of any merchant in Canada but that
hasn’t been enough.
Fees charged to businesses
– generally between 1.5 percent and 4 percent – have long been an issue and the
Retail Council of Canada is calling on the federal government to legislate lower
rates.
Walmart has its own
branded MasterCard but has not said whether this might be part of the issue.
---
“Come on up and
test drive Canada. Make it a long weekend and look around. Try your hand at the
metric system,” Air Canada says of “Donald Trump concern” in the United States.
Without mentioning
the name of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, the airline ads
are having fun with the surge in American inquiries about moving to Canada.
The situation has
also led to numerous celebrities threatening that they’d move north, if
necessary.
The playful message
includes an invitation to visit, noting that Air Canada operates 240 U.S.
flights to Canada daily.
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News in brief:
- A study says
Canadian seniors are doing alright and automatically raising workplace pension
contributions along with the cost of living is unnecessary. That’s because
Canadian retirees increasingly cut back on spending once they become 70, said
the report by the C.D. Howe Institute. Reduced company pension contributions would
help young families more, it said.
- Canada is seeking
candidates for an out-of-this-world job as astronauts. Innovation and Science
Minister Navdeep Bains said there are two spots to be filled. Canada’s
participation in the international space station program has been extended
until 2024 and the country has sent eight astronauts to space.
- Bobby Curtola, a
1960’s Canadian rock-and-roll singer and teen idol, has died at age 73 in Edmonton.
With a string of hits, he became internationally known for songs
“Fortune Teller” and “Aladdin,” and played for five years in Las Vegas.
He also wrote and performed “Things go better with Coca-Cola” for ads in 1964. His
partner, Karyn Rochford, died in a car accident in Nova Scotia
last December.
---
Facts and figures:
The Canadian dollar
is lower at 77.63 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.288 in Canadian
funds, before exchange fees.
Canada’s inflation
rate dipped to 1.5 percent in May from 1.7 percent due to lower food and gas
prices.
The Bank of Canada’s
key interest rate remains at 0.5 percent while the prime-lending rate is 2.7
percent.
Markets are lower, with
the Toronto Stock Exchange index at 13,905 points and the TSX Venture index 713
points.
The average national
price for gas has dropped to $1.08 a liter or $4.10 (Canadian) for a U.S.
gallon.
Lotto 6/49: (June
15) 7, 16, 22, 27, 35 and 49; bonus 11. (June 11) 9, 28, 36, 37, 40 and 46;
bonus 47. Lotto Max: (June 10) 5, 11, 15, 26, 27, 33 and 39; bonus 46.
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Regional briefs:
- Nova Scotia has
had a population boom largely the result of the arrival of Syrian refugees.
Statistics Canada said the Atlantic province’s population reached
947,284 on April 1, an increase of 4,918 from a year ago. It welcomed 1,849
immigrants from January through March.
- British Columbia is
receiving $460 million from the federal government for transit system upgrades
as part of a national multibillion-dollar infrastructure program. Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau said this will help pay to modernize transit
infrastructure with station renovations and new rapid-transit cars.
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Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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