Canada column for
Sunday, July 8/18
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By Jim Fox
Canada’s economy
and jobs would take a direct hit should the United States carry out its threat
to put tariffs on Canadian-made cars and trucks.
The government
retaliated with tariffs on July 1 against President Donald Trump’s new duties
on Canadian steel and aluminum.
Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau promised quick action on the further threat of a 25-percent
tariff on cars and trucks.
The federal
strategy on tariffs is to neither back down nor escalate the dispute, said
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland.
A CIBC Capital
Markets study predicted that U.S. tariffs at 25 percent on foreign auto sales
in the U.S. would cut Canadian production by 400,000 vehicles a year.
That number could
rise to 900,000 fewer vehicles annually if such a tariff is aimed solely at
Canada.
The Canadian
Automobile Dealers Association wants the government to resist retaliatory
tariffs on autos as it would put up to 30,000 sales jobs at risk in the retail
sector.
---
Prime Minister
Trudeau has been trying to deflect questions about a groping allegation arising
at a music festival he attended 18 years ago.
Trudeau, who was a
teacher and 28 at the time, said he is “confident” he did not act
inappropriately toward a female journalist at the Kokanee Summit festival in
British Columbia.
He did, however,
concede the female reporter might have experienced their encounter
“differently” than he did and that he apologized at the time for being “so
forward.”
In 2000 after the
event, the Creston Valley Advance
published an editorial accusing Trudeau of “groping” and “inappropriately
handling” a young unnamed female reporter who was covering the festival.
---
News in brief:
- The driver of a
semi-trailer that collided with a hockey team bus killing 16 people on April 6
in Saskatchewan now faces multiple counts of dangerous operation of a motor
vehicle causing death and bodily harm. Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, 29, was arrested
Friday after months of investigation into the crash involving the team bus for
the Humboldt Broncos en route to a playoff game. As well as those killed, there
were 13 seriously injured.
- Speculation is
growing that Canada’s central bank will raise its key interest rate in the next
week as labor force statistics show more people are working and there are still-strong
wage gains. The Canadian economy added 31,800 positions last month as the
jobless rate rose to 6 percent from 5.8 per cent in May, Statistics Canada said.
There was an influx of 76,000 job seekers back into the labour market that’s showing
a hotter economy.
---
Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar is higher
at 76.39 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.308 in Canadian funds (bank
exchange fees extra).
The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate is steady
at 1.25 percent while the prime-lending rate is 3.45 percent.
Stock markets are higher, with the Toronto
exchange index at 16,333 points while the TSX Venture index is 740 points.
The average price for gas in Canada has risen
to $1.359 a liter or $5.16 (Canadian) for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto 6/49: (July 4) 6, 25, 37, 44, 47 and 49; bonus 26.
(June 30) 2, 3, 7, 11, 16 and 20; bonus 17. Lotto Max: (June 29) 3, 5,
17, 23, 28, 43 and 46; bonus 29.
---
Regional briefs:
- Two popular
travel video bloggers were among three hikers who died after falling into
fast-moving water over Shannon Falls north of Vancouver. The High on Life bloggers
were Alexey Andriyovych Lyakh and Megan (Misty) Scraper while the third victim
was Charles Ryker Gamble. Police said they were walking along the edge and
slipped and fell.
- Postmedia
Network, Canada’s largest newspaper group, is closing another six small-town
papers and ending print publication at four more to cut costs. Being closed are
the Camrose Canadian and Strathmore Standard in Alberta, and the Kapuskasing
Northern Times, Ingersoll Times, Norwich Gazette and Petrolia Topic all in
Ontario. It will also stop printing the Graphic in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba
and in Ontario the Northern News in Kirkland Lake and the Daily Observer in
Pembroke.
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