Canadian gas prices near an all-time high

    Canada column for Sunday, March 6/22

    THE CANADIAN REPORT

   By Jim Fox

    Drivers are paying dearly for gasoline – nearing $2 a liter ($7.60 Canadian for a U.S. gallon).

   Canada has the third-largest oil reserves in the world and relies on Canadian companies to refine most of its own crude oil but demand is running higher as the pandemic wanes.

   Canadians consume tens of billions of liters of oil each year but rely on imports of crude oil from other countries to meet demand.

.   big setback was the decision by U.S. President Joe Biden to scrap the under-construction Keystone XL oil pipeline for environmental reasons.

   It would have carried 830,000 barrels a day of oil sands crude to Nebraska from Alberta.

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    News in brief:

   - After remaining steady since March 2020, Canada’s central bank has raised its trend-setting interest rate by 0.25 percent to 0.5 to contain inflation.

   The record low was among efforts against the economic fallout at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

   Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said this is the first of several rate hikes to “avoid a problematic economic scenario that could be more costly to households than the double-whammy of higher inflation and interest rates.”

   - Christine Elliott, the Ontario government’s face, guiding the most-populous province through the pandemic, has announced her resignation. This is in advance of the June 2 provincial election.

  Elliott, who is also Deputy Premier, will, however, remain as Ontario Health Minister until the election. After which, she said: “I am looking forward to what the next chapter will bring.”

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     Facts and figures:

   Canada’s dollar is higher at 79 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.27 in Canadian funds, before exchange fees.

   The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate is up 0.25 at 0.5 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.7 percent.

   Canadian stock markets are higher, with the Toronto index at 21,250 while the TSX Venture index is 849 points.

   The average price for gas in Canada is at a new record high of $1.70 a liter or $6.46 for a U.S. gallon in Canadian funds.

   Lotto Max: (March1) 5, 6, 28, 36, 40, 46 and 50; bonus 27. (Feb. 25) 2, 4, 17, 28, 35, 44 and 46; bonus 5.

   Lotto 6/49: (March 2) 11, 12, 39, 41, 42 and 49; bonus 14. (Feb.26) 6,8 ,12, 16, 24 and 35; bonus 26.

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    Regional briefs:

   - Nova Scotia will be easing COVID-19 restrictions and changing isolation requirements as the Atlantic  province enters Phase 2 on Monday and Phase 3 on March 21. Gathering limits, social distancing and mask restrictions will be lifted. “We are now encouraging Nova Scotians to also use rapid tests as a way to help protect vulnerable people in our communities as we move toward a state of living with COVID-19,” said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief Medical Officer of Health.