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© St. Petersburg Times, published January 27, 2002
Chretien's words boost dollar
Encouraging words from Canada's leaders helped temporarily revive the listless dollar.
The dollar crashed to a record low of 61.7 U.S. cents, but there's no reason for such weakness, said Prime Minister Jean Chretien.
This pushed the cost of buying a U.S. dollar to $1.62 Canadian at banks in Canada, making U.S. vacations and travel much costlier.
"The dollar does not reflect the strength of the Canadian economy," Chretien said, noting that Canada is the "only country in the Western world" not in a deficit budget position.
"We have a trade surplus, we have a balanced budget, we are in a very good position," he said.
Chretien's comments were echoed by Finance Minister Paul Martin and Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge, which helped push the currency back to 62.5 U.S. cents.
In an economic update, Dodge said the markets have missed all the evidence of Canada's economic recovery and thereby undervalued the currency.
"There are a lot of indicators that our economy should be strengthening, and that will be good for the Canadian dollar vis-a-vis the U.S. dollar," he said.
Canada is threatening to take the U.S. administration to court over duties on softwood lumber exports.
Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew said legal action is an option if the U.S. imposes a 19.3 percent countervailing duty on softwood exports, along with an antidumping tariff, in March.
The U.S. believes Canadian softwood is subsidized through low stumpage fees set by the provincial governments, which is the royalty charged on timber taken from government-owned lands.
The dispute is being heard before a World Trade Organization panel appointed in December while Pettigrew said he's still hopeful it can be resolved through bilateral talks.
Canadian broadcast legend Peter Gzowski, the voice of CBC Radio's Morningside for 15 years, died Thursday of emphysema in a Toronto hospital. Gzowski, who blamed his illness on being a heavy smoker for 50 years, was also a newspaper columnist, TV personality, founder of a golf tournament in aid of literacy and the author of 16 books.
Canada's largest cigarettemaker, Imperial Tobacco, says it would stop using the terms "light" and "mild" if a new tar-rating system is approved. The government plans to ban the terms on the grounds they are misleading while health activists say a rating system would give smokers a false sense of security. Imperial wants labels that would allow smokers to compare tar levels in different brands.
Steven Truscott, the youngest person to spend time on death row, will have a full review of his murder conviction. The case led to Truscott, then 14, being sentenced to hang for the rape and murder of Lynne Harper, 12, in Ontario in 1959. His sentence was commuted to life in prison, and he was released in 1969. Truscott, who lives in Guelph, Ontario, has maintained his innocence.
Canada's dollar started moving lower again on Friday, slipping to 62.15 cents U.S. The U.S. greenback is worth $1.6090 Canadian before bank exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada interest rate remains two percent while the prime-lending rate is 3.75 percent.
Stock markets advanced, with the Toronto Exchange 300 index at 7,668 points and the Canadian Venture Exchange 1,100 points.
Lotto 6-49: (Wednesday) 1, 7, 8, 33, 40 and 44; bonus 28. (Jan. 19) 7, 9, 22, 35, 40 and 47; bonus 36.
Protesters surrounded British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell outside a hotel Thursday. They were complaining about his Liberal government's plans to cut 11,700 public-sector jobs and legislate a contract settlement with teachers. Interim Alliance Leader John Reynolds said Campbell was elected with a big majority to "straighten out a dreadful mess left by 10 years of NDP (New Democratic Party) government."
Alberta is considering dropping some services from Medicare coverage before a federal review panel on health care presents its final report in November. Health Minister Gary Mar said a government committee will report by September on services that should remain under the public health system.
An inquest into the death of Lawrence Wegner, an aboriginal man found frozen to death near Saskatoon, was adjourned so Mounties can investigate allegations of police mistreatment of natives who were dropped off outside of town in freezing weather.
An anthrax scare caused the closing of the Fredericton Mall in New Brunswick for two days. White powder was found in a balloon in a restroom but it turned out to be harmless. A Pugwash, Nova Scotia, high school was closed Wednesday as police investigated e-mail threats against students and staff.