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Canada: Positive news reports, 11 - 13 July 2009

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14 July 2009

From 11 to 13 July 2009 positive stories for Canada were reported from several news sources, including reports from Financial Post, The Canadian Press, Reuters Canada, Regina Leader-Post, The Vancouver Sun, Canwest News Service, Statistics Canada, and Ottawa Citizen. It is a joy for Global Good News service to feature this news, which indicates the success of the life-supporting programmes Maharishi has designed to bring fulfillment to every field: education, government, business, culture, and science.

Financial Post - Business sentiment soars, say surveys (13 July 2009)

Canadian business sentiment has soared as bosses across the country prepare for a pick-up in economic activity, sales and employment amid better credit conditions, according to two Bank of Canada surveys.

The results of the central bank's Summer Business Outlook Survey taken between May 25 and June 18 are a dramatic change in mood from the Winter and Spring reports, with 61% of businesses expecting sales to rise in the coming 12 months—the highest reading since records began in 1998. The bank found that conditions are moving in a positive direction. The central bank survey showed hiring intentions had improved in all sectors and 39% of firms now expected to increase employment over the next 12 months, compared with 25% in the Spring survey.

From another Financial Post report on this:

Fewer firms reported a tightening in credit conditions compared to the last survey as the financial crisis begins to ease, the bank said in its separately released Senior Loan Officer Survey that was conducted June 8 to 19.

From a Reuters Canada report on this:

'On the whole, this [business outlook survey] was a surprisingly strong report, and it is clearing pointing to a renewed sense of optimism among Canadian businesses,' said Millan Mulraine, economics strategist at TD Securities.

The Canadian Press - Conference Board says slump all but over, growth to rebound 2.7 per cent in 2010 (13 July 2009)

Canada's economy received a key vote of confidence. The Conference Board of Canada's newest quarterly outlook calls for the recession to finally end this summer. It forecasts the economy will grow by 0.9 per cent annualized in the current July to September quarter, setting the stage for a better-than expected 2.7-per-cent output rebound next year. The Conference Board's 2.7 per cent projection is significantly higher than the International Monetary Fund's 1.6 per cent estimate, and even better than the Bank of Canada's 2.5 per cent forecast.

On the jobs front, Conference Board economist Pedro Antunes says the economy will stop shedding jobs in the fall. The Conference Board sees Canada rebounding largely because massive global stimulus will whet the world's economy for commodities Canada has to sell.

Canada will also benefit from the C$80 billion in combined federal and provincial stimulus, most of it kicking in next year. There is now a wide consensus that the recession is petering out, said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist with BMO Capital Markets.

From a Financial Post report on this:

'I think we have hit bottom. There is good news coming . . . ,' said Pedro Antunes, director of the Conference Board's national and provincial forecast.

Financial Post - Canadian housing market in 'recovery mode': Re/Max (13 July 2009)

Another real estate organization is declaring an end to Canada's housing market downturn. Re/Max said on Monday a recent surge in housing sales, particularly in Canada's biggest cities, is 'a clear signal that the housing sector has shifted into recovery mode.' It cited resales in the Toronto and Vancouver regions last month, which were among the most robust levels ever seen. 'While sales are the leading indicator, there are other clear signals that recovery is indeed underway,' said Elton Ash, regional executive vice-president of Re/Max for Western Canada. 'Renewed consumer confidence, albeit cautious, has been key, supported by improved economic news.'

The Re/Max report follows one by Royal LePage that indicated Canada's housing real estate took a sharp turn to the positive in the second quarter.

Regina Leader-Post - Job numbers 'good news' (11 July 2009)

Saskatchewan has set another jobs record. Statistics Canada data indicated there were a record 535,600 people employed in the province in June, up by 14,500 compared to June of last year. Employment was also up by a seasonally adjusted 1,600 jobs in June compared to May, when the previous record for most jobs was set. Saskatchewan had the lowest unemployment rate in Canada at 4.6 per cent, down from 4.9 per cent in May. 'Saskatchewan is still the land of opportunity,' John Hopkins, CEO of the Regina Chamber of Commerce, said.

The Vancouver Sun - Canada may already be 'plugged-in' for electric cars (11 July 2009)

It's a fixture in parking lots. The same 120-volt electrical outlets used to keep Canadian cars' engine blocks warm in the winter can be used to power plug-in hybrid electric vehicles—PHEVs—year-round, avoiding the need for extensive infrastructure in which more temperate cities would have to invest, says a leading transportation think-tank.

Arne Elias, executive director of the Centre for Sustainable Transportation at the University of Winnipeg, said next year, when PHEVs are to be for the first time widely available, the unassuming outlets will enable most Canadian cities to forgo the need to install recharging stations.

Hybrids available for sale today use the electric motor only for slow speeds, idling and maintaining velocity—acceleration is achieved through the use of a parallel gasoline motor.

PHEVs run exclusively on their electric battery until it is drained, when it switches over to gasoline.

The 120-volt outlets already in parking lots take between 8-14 hours to fully recharge a car battery, while specialized 240-volt outlets charge in about half that time.

Vancouver's city council passed legislation last week requiring all new condominiums built in the city to install the 240-volt outlets in 20 per cent of all parking spots - the first city in North America to do so.

Canwest News Service - Ottawa-area solar farm gets thumbs up from residents (12 July 2009)

Ottawa is quietly leading a revolution in solar farming that will soon make the nation's capital home to one of the largest solar-energy plants of its kind in North America.

A 200-acre farm in West Carleton, just west of Ottawa, is about to undergo a C$100-million investment that will see 300,000 silvery solar panels installed there. Once this solar farm becomes operational at the end of the year, it's expected to generate about 20 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 7,000 homes during peak hours.

It will be Canada's largest photovoltaic plant, one that converts sunlight directly into electricity. The project, which is being undertaken by EDF EN Canada, the Canadian arm of the French renewable-energy firm, EDF-Energies Nouvelles, is made up of two parallel installations feeding into the grid. The land has been leased for 20 years from a local farmer.

'We're trying to make a revolution happen in solar energy in Canada,'' said Jon Kieran, the company's manager for Canada. Planning and construction of the solar farm on prime farmland here has proceeded with no controversy. That's because solar energy doesn't destroy land, Kieran says. 'We explained that we don't take the land away; we borrow it and grow something else for 20 years and, at the end of the program, we return the land to the farmer for agriculture.'' Building on that goodwill, EDF hopes to launch as many as four more solar projects in eastern Ontario next year, and turn the region into a hub of solar energy in the country. 'Ontario is the nexus of solar in Canada,'' Kieran says.

Statistics Canada - University enrolment (13 July 2009)

Just over 1,066,000 students were enrolled in Canadian universities during the academic year 2007/2008, up 0.6% from the previous academic year. At the graduate level, enrolments increased by 5.0% nationally. About 101,000 students were enrolled in a master's program in 2007/2008, up 5.4% from the previous academic year. . . . At the doctorate level, enrolment rose 5.4% to 40,400 in 2007/2008.

Statistics Canada - University degrees, diplomas and certificates awarded (13 July 2009)

About 241,600 students received a degree, diploma or certificate qualification from a Canadian university in 2007, a 6.9% increase from 2006. . . . At the undergraduate level, some 195,200 students received a degree, a certificate or a diploma in 2007, up 7.6% from 2006. . . . About 34,800 students received a master's level qualification in 2007, up 2.1% from 2006. . . . Universities granted 4,800 doctorate degrees in 2007, the highest number recorded.

Ottawa Citizen - Cyclists can explore 4,300 kilometres of beautiful Quebec countryside (11 July 2009)

A vast and diverse cycling network called La Route Verte ('green route') wanders across 4,300 kilometres of the Quebec urban and rural countryside. The Route Verte passes through Montreal and the cobblestone streets of old Quebec City, meandering from the Ontario border in the west to the windswept Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the east.

National Geographic was so excited about the Route Verte that they ranked it No. 1 in their Top-10 bike routes in the world.

Montreal alone has 350 kilometres of bike paths. Montreal is so bike crazy that every summer, during a week-long Bike Fest, streets around the city are closed off to cars for the 50-kilometre Tour de l' ile when a vast wave of 30,000 cyclists jockey for position at the biggest gathering of cyclists on the planet, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

Montreal's bike-bragging rights were upped this spring when a new, cutting-edge public bike-share program was launched. Twice—in 1999 and 2007—Bicycling Magazine ordained Montreal the best cycling city in North America.

Canwest News Service - B.C.'s southern Gulf Islands are a sunny paradise (11 July 2009)

It's summertime and the living's easy —especially in B.C.'s southern Gulf Islands. On a recent press tour, a group of travel writers got to savour the beauty and the bounty of four of these islands in the sun: Salt Spring, Pender, Saturna and Galiano.

The largest of the Gulf Islands, Salt Spring is home to Michael Ableman, who, with his partner Jean-Marie Herman, runs Foxglove Farm, a 50-hectare organic farm and retreat nestled in a picturesque valley. Ableman grows a veritable cornucopia of vegetables and fruit. The scene fades away and the Farmers Market in the village of Ganges comes into focus. And guess who's front and centre. Yup, it's Ableman, lovingly displaying his produce, which is snapped up by locals and tourists alike. The bustling Saturday market, which runs from mid-March through October, offers an array of culinary and cultural delights. The rules are simple: 'Vendors must make it, bake it or grow it.' There is nothing more satisfying and serene than drinking in the incomparable views of Ganges and the harbour.

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