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© St. Petersburg Times, published November 5, 2001
Canada's colorful currency has fallen to a record low, making the cost of American goods and a U.S. vacation more expensive.
The dollar sank to its lowest close of 62.66 cents U.S. on Thursday, with economists expecting it to drop to 60 cents within 18 months. That pushed the value of a U.S. dollar to $1.5958 Canadian.
The drop was blamed on the outlook for the global economy and lower prices for Canada's natural resources, primarily oil and natural gas.
Finance Minister Paul Martin said the "fundamentals of the Canadian economy are stronger than most other countries" and that will "ultimately" be reflected in the currency."
The greatest concern is "the whole question of when the economic recovery in the United States is going to take place," Martin added.
The previous low was 63.09 cents U.S. set during the Russian economic crisis in August 1998.
Economists foresee further weakness partly because of expected key interest rate reductions of up to another percentage point to boost the flagging economy.
Canadian politicians verbally attacked Solicitor General Lawrence MacAulay for publicly disclosing that Canada passed key information about terrorist threats to the FBI.
Canadian Alliance Leader Stockwell Day said MacAulay compromised the work of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service by publicly disclosing the information. The tip led U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to issue a public warning about possible new terrorist attacks.
Day called it a "serious security breach" to disclose the information believed taken from intercepted phone calls and e-mails.
Thousands of more jobs in Canada's west coast forest industry will be lost as a result of the imposition by the United States of a second punitive duty against softwood lumber exports. The new antidumping duty adds an average 12.6 percent on top of a 19.3 percent countervailing duty imposed last August. U.S. producers say Canada is dumping wood into their market at cut-rate prices because of unfair government subsidies.
In a bid to discourage smoking, the Canadian government and provinces on Friday increased taxes on a carton of cigarettes by up to $4.50. The new prices range from $42.26 a 10-pack carton in Ontario to $58.91 a carton in the Northwest territories.
Former Sen. Solange Chaput-Rolland has died in Montreal of a heart ailment. She was 82. Chaput-Rolland, Also an author and broadcaster, served in the appointed Senate from 1988 until 1994.
Canada is increasing by 10,000 the number of immigrants it will admit next year. Citizenship and Immigration Minister Elinor Caplan said Canada expects to receive 210,000 to 235,000 immigrants in 2002 to make up for a slowing population rate.
Canada's jobless rate edged up last month to 7.3 percent from 7.2 percent in September, Statistics Canada reported Friday.
The Canadian dollar was up slightly Friday at 62.85 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returned $1.5910 Canadian before bank exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada key interest rate is 2.75 percent while the prime-lending rate remains 4.5 percent.
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, which will trim 2,000 staff members because of the economy, announced mortgage rate cuts. The one-year closed mortgage falls a fifth of a point to 4.75 percent, while a five-year closed mortgage is 6.7 percent.
Stock markets advanced, with the Toronto 300 Index at 7,001 points while the Canadian Venture Exchange was 2989 points on Friday.
Lotto 6-49: (Wednesday) 12, 15, 29, 30, 45 and 47; bonus 8. (Oct. 27) 18, 21, 25, 26, 32 and 48; bonus 38.
The Quebec government brought in its budget five months early and drained a $950-million surplus to head off an economic crisis. Finance Minister Pauline Marois said the worldwide slowdown has left the province $1.8-billion short of expected revenue targets. The province will attempt to revive its economy by speeding up $3-billion in capital works projects.
Three teenagers were being questioned by police after a fire set on Halloween night destroyed the historic St. John's Anglican church in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Built in 1753, it was North America's second-oldest Anglican church. The first spread quickly to engulf the white clapboard building in the heart of the historic fishing village.
Newfoundland has officially added Labrador region to its name. The island province has called itself Newfoundland and Labrador for the past several years after asking for the name change in 1999. At that time, the Quebec government opposed it because it never recognized a 1927 ruling by the British Privy Council that confirmed the boundaries of Labrador.