Canada column for
Sunday, July 30/17
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By Jim Fox
The U.S.
government’s decision to drop a proposed border tax has been welcomed by Canada
as removing the threat of a trade war.
The unilateral
imposition of a revenue-generating border tax would have been a “very
destructive action to take,” said Perrin Beatty, president of the Canadian
Chamber of Commerce.
It could have come
just as negotiations to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement are
to begin on Aug. 16.
The lack of action
also reduces pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to cut Canada’s corporate
tax rate to keep pace with the promised steep reduction in the United States.
Trudeau expressed
satisfaction with the move as U.S. officials said they’re “confident” a tax on
imports is no longer needed to pay for broader tax reform.
The border
adjustment tax would have been a “serious impediment to trade with Canada,” he
said.
“There is no
economic relationship anywhere in the world like the one between Canada and the
United States and that needs to be protected,” Trudeau added.
---
Strong household
spending pushed Canada’s economy up 2.6 percent to end last year.
Statistics Canada said
that overall the economy expanded by 1.4 percent in 2016, up from 0.9 percent
the previous year.
After raising its
trendsetting key interest rate by 0.25 percent last month, the Bank of Canada
held the rate steady while warning it was watching “significant uncertainties” concerning
the economic outlook.
That was a
reference to gauging the direction of U.S. economic policy.
There is concern in
the Canadian business community and the federal government over possible
changes to taxation and trade policies.
---
News in brief:
- Travelers are
being warning of delays as 700 ground crew workers at Toronto’s Pearson
International Airport, Canada’s busiest, are on strike. The Teamsters are
employed by Swissport serving 30 airlines including Sunwing, Air Transat, Air
France and British Airways. They are fighting a potential wage freeze for three
years.
- A submarine
mission is underway in Lake Ontario searching for nine models of the Avro Arrow
aircraft believed ditched there since 1959. The advanced Canadian jet fighter program
was controversially cancelled and the free-flight prototypes are believed to be
in the water. Kraken Sonar Inc. is exploring an area just off Point Petre in an
expedition called “Raise the Arrow,” headed by John Burzynski of OEX Recovery
Group Inc.
---
Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar has
climbed to 80.41 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.243 in Canadian funds
before exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate is 0.75
percent while the prime-lending rate at commercial banks is 2.95 percent.
Stock markets are mixed, with the Toronto
exchange index down at 15,128 points while the TSX Venture index is up at 772
points.
The average price for gas in Canada is steady
at $1.054 a liter or $4 (Canadian) for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto 6/49: (July 26) 1, 2, 18, 26, 36 and 44; bonus 49.
(July 22) 5, 8, 17, 32, 38 and 45; bonus 18. Lotto Max: (July 21) 2, 11,
12, 25, 33, 39 and 44; bonus 8.
---
Regional briefs:
- A deal is near in
the heated softwood lumber dispute between Canada and the U.S., said British
Columbia Premier John Horgan. He met for two days with trade officials in Washington
where “intense negotiations” involve Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia
Freeland and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. Earlier this year, the
U.S. imposed tariffs and duties averaging 27 percent on Canadian softwood
imports.
- “Lightning” has
struck twice for Jules Parent, 69, of Quebec who won $1 million twice playing
the lottery. He picked up a check at the Loto-Quebec offices in Quebec City for
$1.22 million in the Crown of Egypt lottery online. In 2008, he won $1 million
tax free playing Lotto 6-49. With his luck, Parent said: “I'm going to continue
playing.”
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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