Canada column for Sunday, Aug. 9/20
THE CANADIAN REPORT
By Jim Fox
Canada is hitting back against a punishing U.S. tariff on aluminum with its own import taxes on U.S. products.
Calling the move by President Donald Trump “absurd, useless and unjustified,” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland announced $3.6 billion in import tariffs to be imposed within 30 days.
The 10-percent import tax on aluminum is necessary because Canada had broken a promise not to flood the U.S. market with the product, Trump said.
Canada has denied the claim and suggests the timing is flawed, coming only weeks after a new free-trade deal began.
“Imposing trade penalties in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic is unnecessary, unwarranted and entirely unacceptable,” Freeland said.
The tariff is an “absurd decision” that will cause harm in the U.S. with higher prices.
“Any American who buys a can of beer or a soda or a car or a bike will suffer,” she said.
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Only one Canadian in five believes they have had “some form of hardship” with the continued closing of the Canada-U.S. land border.
The Nanos Research survey found just five percent reporting major hardships.
The closing to prevent the spread of pandemic started four months ago and is reviewed monthly by both countries.
There is an exemption for travel called essential, including trade and commerce, health-care and temporary foreign workers.
Canada is also exempting Americans who are attending universities.
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News in brief:
- The Royal Bank of Canada is ending its association with WE Charity that’s linked to an ethics scandal involving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Canada’s largest bank will end its sponsorships and donations to the charity. An ethics investigation continues into Trudeau after the government hired the company to run a $900-million student grant program. Trudeau and his family have worked for the charity.
- Statistics Canada reported the unemployment rate was 10.9 percent last month, down from 12.3 percent in June. For the first time, it said the rate for “racialized workers” was 16.2 percent compared with 9.3 percent for white Canadians. The difference was suggested to be due to industries hardest hit by shutdowns, such as accommodation and food services where employment dropped by more than half.
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Facts and figures:
The Canadian dollar is higher at 74.71 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.338 Canadian before exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate is unchanged at 0.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.45 percent.
Canadian stock markets are higher with the Toronto index at 16,544 points and the TSX Venture index 739 points.
The average price for gas in Canada is lower at $1.034 a liter (Canadian) or $3.92 for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto Max: (Aug. 4) 18, 24, 25, 30, 31, 33 and 48; bonus 27. (July 31) 8, 16, 19, 22, 28, 31 and 38; bonus 25.
Lotto 6/49: (Aug. 5) 3, 14, 23, 30, 38 and 43; bonus 24. (Aug. 1) 12, 13, 17, 22, 39 and 40; bonus 25.
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Regional briefs:
- Political news in Atlantic Canada includes orthopedic surgeon Andrew Furey named Premier-designate of Newfoundland and Labrador. He won the provincial Liberal leadership race to succeed outgoing Premier Dwight Ball. Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil said he will be quitting after being in politics for 17 years. New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs plans to call a provincial election for the fall.
- Scientists say the last remaining intact ice shelf in the Canadian Arctic has broken apart. The Canadian Ice Service said the shelf on the northwestern edge of Ellesmere Island has shrunk by almost half to 43 per cent to 41square miles. The ice shelf is in a fjord sheltered by tall cliffs but the region has been warming at two to three times the global rate. The breakup was expected but “it’s sort of like losing a good friend in a way,” said University of Ottawa glaciologist Luke Copland.
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Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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