Canada column for Sunday, March 13/22
THE CANADIAN REPORT
By Jim Fox
Many Canadians are scrapping long-distance highway trips as gasoline prices reach record highs, exceeding $2 a liter ($7.50 a U.S. gallon in Canadian funds).
“It means vacations postponed,” for spring road trips and this week’s March school break, said federal politician McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy.
He puts out a daily prediction of where gas prices are headed across Canada.
Now that the pandemic is easing, people were looking to get away but are faced with super-high pump prices for gas.
It’s also translating into a one-week national average gas price increase of 26 cents a liter ($1 a U.S. gallon to $1.85 a liter ($7) by Sunday, McTeague said.
“As fuel prices filter their way through the economy, it’s likely to raise the price of everything else substantially, he added.
Gas prices reached $2 a liter in Vancouver and Montreal, $1.75 in Toronto and $1.67 in Halifax, said Natural Resources Canada.
“Gas prices continue to be headed north towards record territory,” McTeague said.
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The Ontario government plans to remove most mask mandates on March 21 and end remaining public health orders in April.
Canada’s most populous province will shift the onus of protection from COVID-19 to people, said Premier Doug Ford.
“We’re going to move forward cautiously and if someone wants to keep a mask on, good for them,” he said.
The announcement came as 1,974 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Ontario on March 9.
“Improving health indicators, such as a stable test positivity rate and declining hospitalizations, as well as Ontario’s high vaccination rates and the availability of antiviral treatments, allow for mask mandates to now be lifted, said Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health.
Up next on Monday will be the end of the mandatory vaccinate-or-test policies for workers in schools, child-care settings, hospitals and long-term care.
Masking requirements in most settings will be removed – including schools and child-care settings – except for public transit and health-care settings such as long-term care facilities.
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News in brief:
- Former Quebec Premier Jean Charest is expected to be among the candidates to enter the race to succeed Erin O'Toole who resigned as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. Charest, 63, is also a former leader of the Quebec Liberal and federal Progressive Conservative parties. The only declared candidate is Pierre Poilievre, said to be known for “extreme conservative views and fiery rhetoric in Parliament.” The candidates must declare by April 19 and the leader will be decided on Sept. 10.
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Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar is slightly lower at 78 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.27.3 in Canadian funds, before exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate is 0.5 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.7 percent.
Canadian stock markets are higher, with the Toronto index at 21,581 while the TSX Venture index 855 points.
The average price for gas in Canada is at another record high of $1.87 a liter or $7.10 for a U.S. gallon in Canadian funds.
Lotto Max: (March 8) 10,12, 13, 18, 25, 26 and 37; bonus 39. (March 4) 2, 4, 14,18, 24 ,46 and 47; bonus 23.
Lotto 6/49: (March 9) 16, 25, 31, 34, 40 and 42; bonus 15. (March 5) 5, 9, 10, 32, 38 and 40; bonus 44.
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Regional brief:
- A huge container ship, the length of two football fields, is adrift off the west coast of Newfoundland. The Canadian Coast Guard said the half-mile-long MSC Kim reported engine problems and is being towed 50 miles to Port au Port. There were no reported injuries or pollution problems. The vessel is sailing under the flag of Panama and owned by Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Co.
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