Canada column for
Sunday, May 20/18
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By Jim Fox
Canadian Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau made his best pitch yet at Yankee Stadium for an
agreement on a revised North American Free Trade Agreement.
As Canada, the
United States and Mexico looked for a speedy resolution of the talks, Trudeau
was making a commencement speech to New York University graduates at the ball
park.
It was the 16th
time Trudeau has taken a working trip to the U.S. since becoming prime minister
in 2015 to tell his audiences that the Canada-U.S. trade relationship is
critical for both countries.
Despite his best
efforts and optimism that a deal was close, Trudeau also spoke with U.S.
President Donald Trump who earlier threatened to end the agreement.
The U.S. then
rebuffed Trudeau’s hope for deal for the pact first signed in 1994 and for
which negotiations to modernize it began last August.
U.S. trade czar
Robert Lighthizer said a deal wasn’t imminent due to differences on
intellectual property, agriculture, online purchases, energy, labor, rules of
origin and other issues.
While in New York, Trudeau
received an honorary degree from the university.
---
The top spot on
Christie’s global list of the hottest luxury housing markets is Victoria,
British Columbia.
The Vancouver
Island city leads the list prepared by the real estate division of the famed
auction company.
It said strong
sales growth and high demand for housing put the city at the top of those around
the world.
Right behind are
San Diego and Orange County, California, Washington D.C. and Paris.
Toronto was in 9th
spot for prime property and Muskoka, Ontario was second for hottest
secondary/leisure home markets.
---
News in brief:
- Radical Ontario
Conservative leader Doug Ford, still leading in the polls for the June 7
provincial election, says he will cut corporate taxes and reduce the price of
gasoline by 10 cents a liter (38 cents a U.S. gallon). He said his party wants
to trim corporate taxes by one percent to 10.5 percent and put more money “back
into the pockets” of business owners and taxpayers. The program costs will be
funded by “billions of dollars of efficiencies” his party will find, he said.
- Inflation is
continuing at its strongest pace in six years at 2.2 percent last month, down
0.1 percent. Along with higher gas prices, more expensive air transportation
and restaurant meals put upward pressure on inflation. The Bank of Canada is
expected to remain on the sidelines with no key interest rate hike until at
least July, economists predict.
---
Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar is
lower at 77.6 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.288 in Canadian funds
(exchange fees extra).
The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate remains at
1.25 percent while the prime-lending rate is 3.45 percent.
Stock markets are higher, with the Toronto
exchange index at 16,162 points while the TSX Venture index is 786 points.
The average price for gas in Canada has risen
to $1.36 a liter or $5.16 (Canadian) for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto 6/49: (May 16) 19, 21, 28, 30, 39 and 46; bonus 7.
(May 12) 6, 17, 21, 34, 37 and 44; bonus 13. Lotto Max: (May 11) 11, 22,
28, 33, 39, 43 and 47; bonus 23.
---
Regional briefs:
- The Canadian
government will compensate the Kinder Morgan company for any further delays in
construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline caused by political bickering,
Prime Minister Trudeau said. The offer is “an insurance policy of sorts” so the
controversial pipeline expansion will be built to take Alberta crude oil to
British Columbia seaports.
- The strike by
2,300 workers at Caesars casino in Windsor, Ontario continues after Unifor
Local 444 rejected a second tentative contract agreement. The vote against was
53 percent after the union and casino management announced a new agreement. The
workers left their jobs and the casino closed on April 6 over demands for more
money and better working conditions.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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