I guess there's a reason why you don't name a personal injuries lawyer as your finance minister. For all the bluster we learn recently that Canada's economy is not as strong as Harper and Flaherty have led us to believe and in fact news that the recession was over in September was incorrect. The Financial Post has stated that we need to cool down our bragging, because other countries are moving closer to recovery than we are, despite a strong banking system.
As journalist Murray Dobbin points out: "What do the mid-recession housing boom and the Harper Conservatives' rise in the polls have in common? Answer: the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's massive sub-prime mortgage scheme that is keeping up the appearance of an economic recovery." And because of this high risk game that the Reform Conservatives have been playing "The largest sub-prime lender in the world is now the Canadian government."
It is predicted that unemployment will rise and in St. Thomas Ontario, a plant that employs 1,600 people: "Ford is insisting that the St Thomas plant will close in September of 2011" This is not about wanting to be the bearer of doom and gloom. This is about saying WAKE UP CANADA! This neo-conservative government is the wrong fit for us and they are failing us badly.
Someone needs to put a motion on the floor demanding that this government opens it's books. We still have no idea where our money is. This is Mike Harris all over again. We can't get rid of them for awhile but we can at least demand some answers. I'm tired of being lied to.
GDP slump leaves Canada on the sidelines while G7 partners exit their recessions
October 30, 2009
Today’s announcement that Canada experienced negative GDP growth in August while other G7 countries are coming out of recession is proof that Stephen Harper’s partisan approach to the economy is slowing Canada’s recovery, Liberal Finance Critic John McCallum said today.“
Viewing the GDP numbers in the context of how other G7 countries are faring, it’s clear that Stephen Harper and Jim Flaherty need to put away their talking points, have a look at what’s happening in the real world and acknowledge that what they’ve done so far hasn’t worked,” said Mr. McCallum.
The latest Statistics Canada figures show that Canada’s GDP contracted by 0.1% in August following zero growth in July. By contrast, the United States, for example, announced yesterday that its economy grew 0.9% over the summer quarter.
Mr. McCallum pointed out that as recently as Tuesday, Minister Flaherty was at the Parliamentary Finance Committee still refusing to acknowledge that countries like Japan, Germany and France exited their recessions last spring.
“His inability to understand how Canada is fairing internationally is incomprehensible,” said Mr. McCallum. “And when you add in the fact that the Conservatives have been playing politics with stimulus money, it’s pretty easy to see why Canada is falling behind. No wonder the Conservatives have been so reluctant to release any job creation or construction progress details related to Canada’s stimulus package.”
Canadian economy continues to struggle
Toronto Star
October 30, 2009
Canada's economy continued its backward slide in August, throwing more cold water on claims by the Bank of Canada the recession ended during the summer.
The gross domestic product, a measure of all goods and services produced by the economy, posted a decline of 0.1 per cent for August. The decline comes after a flat result for July.
Most economists had forecast a gain of 0.1 per cent or no change.
Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney has said a recession ended in the July-September period after three quarters of contraction. His latest rosy prediction for the quarter – an annualized rate of growth of 2 per cent – came just last week.
"This morning's report was a full-on disappointment," Meny Grauman, senior economist for CIBC World Markets wrote in a report.
TSX battered after disappointing GDP data
Financial Post
October 30, 2009
Bad economic data from Canada and the U.S. set the stage for an ugly day on North American stock markets Friday.
As trading stopped for the day, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 198 points, or 1.8 per cent, to 10,878, with the three big sectors of energy, financials and materials providing most of the drag.
For the week, the TSX benchmark was down about 4.5 per cent, with Thursday providing the only positive session. The index posted its first monthly decline since February, losing about the same proportion over the month of October.
On Friday, Statistics Canada said the economy contracted 0.1 per cent in August. It doesn't bode well for the Bank of Canada's expectations of annualized third-quarter growth of two per cent — ending the recession — when two of the three months so far in this period have seen flat or negative GDP.
Canadian economy slips back in August
Financial Post
October 30, 2009
OTTAWA - Canada's economy fell back unexpectedly in August, despite initial signs that the country was climbing out of recession.
Bad economic data weighs on stock markets
Financial Post
October 30, 2009
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