Canada column for
Sunday, Sept. 9/18
THE CANADIAN REPORT
c By Jim Fox
An agreement to
settle the dispute over revamping the North American Free Trade Agreement
remains elusive as Canadian and U.S. negotiators try to “milk” a new deal.
Dairy rules remain
the big issue as Canada continues to resist allowing more access by the U.S. to
its market.
“The word that
continues to block the deal is m-i-l-k,” said Larry Kudlow, director of
President Donald Trump’s National Economic Council.
His comments came
just before talks between U.S. trade czar Robert Lighthizer and Canada’s
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland ended for the week in Washington.
“Let go milk,
dairy, drop the barriers, give our farmers a break and we can fix some other
things,” he added.
For the Canadian
dairy industry, protecting its business is particularly politically charged in
Ontario and Quebec.
Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau said Canada could be willing to be flexible on dairy but Kudlow
said it wasn’t enough.
Other differences include
culture and the agreement’s dispute resolution mechanism.
---
Economists were
surprised by a big loss of 51,600 jobs across Canada last month, driving the
jobless rate to 6 percent, up from 5.8 in July.
It had been
predicted the economy would create an additional 5,000 jobs in August.
Statistics Canada
reported last month’s job losses amounted to 92,000 part-time positions while
the number of full-time jobs rose by 40,400.
Ontario had the
largest decrease of all the provinces, dropping 80,100 jobs, almost all part
time.
---
News in brief:
- Alberta Premier
Rachel Notley said the Canadian government is working quickly to resume
construction on the stalled Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. The Federal
Court of Appeal ordered the work to stop to consult with Indigenous groups
about environment impacts and for the National Energy Board to review the
potential impact of increased tanker traffic on marine life. The expansion
would triple the capacity of the existing line taking oil products to the port
in Burnaby from Edmonton.
- Protecting
Quebec’s French culture has entered the province’s election campaign. Francois
Legault, leader of the Coalition Avenir Quebec party, said if elected his government
would require new immigrants to learn French within three years or leave the
province. The government would provide free language courses to the some 50,000
immigrants who arrive each year. They would then have to pass a basic
French-language test.
---
Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar is
lower at 76.01 cents U.S. from a week ago while the U.S. dollar returns $1.315 Canadian
(before bank exchange fees).
The Bank of Canada’s
key interest rate remains at 1.5 percent while the prime-lending rate is 3.7 percent.
Stock markets are lower, with the Toronto
exchange index at 16,090 points while the TSX Venture index is 712 points.
The average price for gas in Canada is higher at
$1.318 a liter or $5 (Canadian) for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto 6/49: (Sept. 5) 4, 6, 15, 32, 36 and 47; bonus 48.
(Sept. 1) 8, 12, 15, 34, 37 and 44; bonus 45. Lotto Max: (Aug. 31) 2, 4,
18, 19, 20, 39 and 44; bonus 11.
---
Regional briefs:
- The Canadian
military has announced stringent restrictions on the use of recreational
marijuana that becomes legal across Canada on Oct. 17. Gen. Jonathan Vance says
military personnel must “make responsible choices” and abstain from using
marijuana at least eight hours before going on duty. There will be a complete
ban on marijuana use by personnel deployed on overseas missions or training as
well as on military aircraft and ships.
- An archeology
team from Parks Canada is exploring the wreckage of the Franklin expedition
ships that went down north of the Arctic Circle. They are trying to find out
what happened to the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror during a scientific and
exploratory mission in 1845. It is believed the ships got trapped in ice and
were abandoned by the crew members.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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